What it Means to Live
by DarkXLightxmagique
Summary: Demetra was cursed by a goddess. She can do anything, but must pay a price. Can she expose Light as Kira, prove her innocence, and fight the gods? Eventual LxOC. An interseting, unique tale.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Death Note...I only own Demetra, Adelle, and Marie, Amayia, and the father, and Mika (who will be here in later chapters) the concept of this, and the plot.**

"No, Mama, let me do it,"

My mother smiled at my innocent eagerness to tend to the dishes. She knew I only willingly did chores if I wanted something.

"Oh, dear Demetra, what is it this time?" She patted my head playfully.

"Oh, Mama, why would you say that?...Well, I'd really like to have a puppy 'cause everyone else in school has a doggie, and I want one, too!"

My mother smiled knowingly. "But you know how I feel about dogs…they could turn on you any minute, they bite. I was bitten by one when I was your age, you little teeny-bop, you, and I had to go to the hospital to get stitches."

I cringed at the reminder of hospitals and stitches. They were always creepy.

"Yeah, I know…OK, mommy…"

"Your father feels just the same." I thought it strange that she brought up my father, as he died, and I never met him. "Your sister doesn't, but, come now, you know her—"

"Yeah, she's funny when she comes home from work." I closed my eyes momentarily, admiring her for being so big, so old, but in a young way. She was twenty three, she was almost done school and had a part-time job at a trendy restaurant. I was only ten, so she was just cooler for being older, more grown-up.

"OK, fine, no dog. But someday, I'm gonna get one, and I'm gonna move away with Amayia." I smiled, opening my eyes. I loved my sister's name, and I loved mine, too. They were very unique names…even though our parents probably took a couple names that they liked and blurred them together to make a new one.

"All right, then. Take the garbage out, and I'll read you a story when you get to bed."

I grabbed the filthy bag and walked outside. I went to the dooryard and froze. There was a woman sitting on the trashcan. She was pale, thin, black haired, black-eyed, impossibly tall, and impossibly beautiful.

"Um, who are you, Miss?"

She smiled, but I didn't like it. "My name is Adelle, dear, dear Demetra. Where is your mother?"

"Inside," I backed up a step, but I only seemed to get closer.

"Well, how 'bout I talk to her. Take me in, will you?"

"I can't bring strangers into the house!"

She frowned, then smiled warmly. "Of course you can't, but your mommy knows me."

"She does?"

"Yes, I'm a…an acquaintance of hers. She'll know me the minute she hears my voice, the moment she sees me. She'll know. Let me in."

"OK," Then, she disappeared from the trashcan. She just vanished, before my very eyes. Seconds later, I heard my mother screaming.

"Mama!" I hurried in the house, and saw the kitchen covered in blood. My mother's blood.

Adelle looked at me, holding my mother by her head in one hand, and a green bottle in her other.

"Don't hurt her!"

"Sweet child, I have to. It was a deal."

_A deal?_

"Mama, don't let her! Mama—" Even though I didn't completely understand what was going on, I didn't like the blood, though I soon became comfortable ignoring it.

"Why?" I began to cry. "Don't hurt her! She did nothing! Mom!"

My mom began to cry. "I have to," She moaned, "And—"

"And it's all your fault!" Adelle cut her off.

I gasped. "My fault? I take it back! Honest, I do! Just don't—"

"I'm afraid that I _could_ very well undo it, sweetheart. If you were never born, this wouldn't have to happen."

"What—"

"I'm a witchdoctor. I helped her let you into the world." She let my mother down, chuckling. "Oh, Marie, it's either telling her or lying to her. She might as well know.

"Demetra, your mother was on a road that was occupied by a couple of cults that belong to me. They worship me, and I reward them. Your mother was in labor and the car ran out of gas. My people are a kind people, though we can get even and pay our debts…and need others to pay theirs.

"They took her to my home, and I helped her with dark magic to bring you here. She didn't have anything with her at the time, and she didn't want to worship me, joining my followers. I saved her life, but I didn't want four lives to be wasted for the debt of one. And Demetra is such a pretty name, don't you think? I named you, as you are a child of mine, as you were brought to life by my magic. That is also why you have black hair. However, I let you keep your pretty blue eyes.

"When I name a child, they belong to me. I renamed all of my children—my followers—and they belong to me. I changed your sister's name, too. Your mother was a goodhearted woman, and wanted her to live, as well. And the only way to live was to be my child. Your mother is not my child, as she accepts her fate of not being mine, death shall become of her." Then, swiftly, she shoved the bottle down my mother's throat, and my mom dropped to the floor.

I then thought of something.

"What about my daddy? You killed him, too?"

"Yes, he wanted to die for your mother, even though I told him it would only buy her time, not an eternity."

My mouth dropped. I never met my dad because he was selfless. Too selfless. He was so selfless that it was selfish. He took his life so I could never meet him. Why couldn't my mom keep me in her tummy, never to bring this tragedy upon herself…upon myself…my sister…she was selfish, but selfless at the same time.

She clasped her hands, as if it settled something. "Well, your sister, tonight, has died. She killed herself. It was her time to determine her future with or without me. She said before she died that her death should not affect what I want with you, and it doesn't. You belong to me, now, but I don't want you to kill yourself—"

I screamed and kicked her knee.

She kneeled, slightly weakened by the blow, but not really. "Demetra, you're my child, and as your mother, I must punish you for disrespecting me. If you did this in front of my followers, they would have killed you instantly. But I'm a kind goddess to all, even those that take that for granted."

"You're crazy! I hate you! You're not my mother! I—"

"Demetra, my child, you're family was cursed to die. You will be cursed to save."

She embraced me, immobilizing me. She chanted, making me sway against her thin frame. When she finished, I could barely stand up. I felt as if she had drained my blood form my entire body.

"Now, my Demetra, I shall hurt you, and you will heal yourself by bringing me or yourself pain."

"What are talking about—"

Her long, disgusting pinky nail slit my arm. Blood shot out like leaking water. "Now, if you want to heal, cut yourself that is equal to the pain now, or cut me in an equal way."

I scratched her with all of my nails on her face. She yelped, but it was as if she expected it. Then, as she bled, my arm healed. There wasn't even a scar. I cast her a curious look, but her face healed.

"I am a witch, I can do whatever I wish to," she explained. "But you, you are cursed to save. Do you not see this?"

I stared at my arm. "I see."

"And with this power, you will be able to see things others can't. You can see, if you will, death. Those who take charge in it, anyway."

"What do you—"

Then, a monster appeared behind her. I jumped back, frightened out of my wits.

"Beings like this will appear all the time. You must ignore them. As my child, they will not hurt you."

"Wh—wh—what _is_ that?"

"Oh, this is a shinigami. A death god. Death." She giggled girlishly. She handed him an apple, talked in what I believed was Japanese, then it disappeared.

"He won't hurt you, dear. The others won't, either. If they do, then they caused a little wrinkle in our agreement, though it has no affect on them, and it wouldn't directly affect me, but I help them out a lot, as a goddess, so with out my services, sure, they could still do anything, as gods, but they still appreciate me and my work. Ah, and I should also tell you that you can heal others, as well, and you can do anything you want…with a price."

I remained silent, my mind still catching up from the shinigami.

"Let's say….you wanted to fly. If you hurt someone or something enough, you could fly. If you wanted to kill someone, but not directly, so no one would suspect you, you could hurt someone or something enough, and that person would die, though depending on how much pain you bring, determines how the person dies, how long it takes, and so on. Understand?"

I nodded.

"Good."

She disappeared.

And I've been doing all that I can to be involved with Adelle and the shinigami ever since.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Death Note...I only own Demetra, Adelle, and Marie, Amayia, and the father, and Mika, the concept of this, and the plot.**

I took a deep breath and brushed my black locks out of my face before opening the door to enter the workplace. I've been rather concerned and preoccupied with the case of the Kira for an awfully long time, so I was glad I could finally help those already trying to solve the puzzle. I knew I could be some form of help, and I knew that they would appreciate me….or, at least, I had hoped that…

I stepped into the room and everyone's attention shifted to me. I let my soft, icy eyes ogle at my surroundings and attempted to look brave as I sat at the desk that was reserved for me. Their eyes immediately traveled back to their tasks before my disruption and ignored me.

--

Six Moths Later…

After months of investigating the Kira, gaining ideas and throwing them away, connecting and scratching plans and thoughts, helping each other and ourselves to be pushed further, we looked deeper and beyond the events and patterns of the case.

I rubbed my eyes as I studied the screen. I frowned slightly, getting agitated at the most recent report of a murder caused by the Kira. I furrowed my eyebrows, not remembering the last time that I smiled since I came to Japan. Suddenly, my cell phone rang, I wiped off the frown and replaced it with a dead, stony expression. It was an American friend of mine that knew some things of the Kira, but not enough to really help the case. Then I thought, she knew that she could only call me while I was at work only in emergencies—which she apparently understood, as she didn't bother to call me yet—but then I thought, if she knew I was working on the Kira case, and she only called for emergencies, and she was in America, and I was in Japan, she must be calling me to tell me about a murder in America that was from the Kira.

"Ryuuzaki," I said "Someone I know is calling me, and she knows a thing or two about the Kira. I think she's going to report something that was from the Kira's doing."

"Put it on speaker, she might have some information that is useful." His eyes never left the screen as he talked with a piece of cake in hand.

I pressed the speaker button, and as soon as I did so, the phone screamed, "THE WEDDING IS IN JAPAN!"

I fumbled with the device, trying to get it off speaker so I could scold a certain someone about their priorities and definition of emergencies. With the phone close to my ear, I nearly whispered, "Mika, I know that I told you not to call me unless it was an emergency or something concerning the Kira while I'm at work. What's wrong?"

The voice whined, "Aw, but Dem, this_ is_ an emergency! You remember that engagement that I had when I was in high school and you were, like, a police officer?"

I planted my hand on my forehead, preparing for an apology to Ryuuzaki and everyone else for wasting their time with a stupid phone call from an excited, peppy friend.

"Yes," I moaned.

"Well, after talking it out, we've decided to have it in Japan! Isn't that great? I knew you couldn't come to America 'cause of your job, so I'm coming to you!"

"Yes, yes, that is an emergency," I said emotionless. "I see. That was a situation that required urgency from me. I'm very happy for you, and what you've done with me in mind, but I must return to work. Goodbye." I hung up, and sighed. Hopefully, Ryuuzaki wouldn't be too annoyed; since the beginning, he said that he never liked cell phones interrupting him, but recently, he said that he didn't care if they were on or not. Maybe he was on a fence. Or, maybe, he was just him.

"I'm sorry, please excuse that phone call, it won't happen again."

"That is quite all right, Demetra." L said absently, reaching into a nearby bag of chocolates.

"Wait a minute..." Matsuda said dramatically. "The Kira CAN GET MARRIED?"

"SHUT UP, MATSUDA!" everyone yelled, myself included.

I focused my attention back to the screen, wanting to shoot myself; I felt embarrassed that I thought the phone call was going to be important and ended up wasting everyone's precious time, especially Ryuuzaki's, as I knew that he worked the hardest out of everyone, and the last thing anyone would want was for him to be annoyed or angry with them. I instinctively placed my index finger to my pocket. I felt the bulge of my pocket knife. Having what I have, it always brought me some form of comfort…

I saw pictures and videos of the murder. It seemed as unplanned as any fluke could be, but that was how the Kira had to work. I kept wondering how the Kira could kill (though for justice) so impulsively, as the murder was a car crash and about twenty thieves died instantly.

Hours passed without my knowing, and I blinked, surprised that I had spent all of my time without really getting anywhere. I looked around without moving my head, and saw no one else besides Ryuuzaki, who was a mere foot away from me. It suddenly became impossible for me to keep my eyes open, so I turned off the laptop, and declared a polite goodbye to the never-sleeping detective.

The moment I stepped out of the building, my cell phone rang impatiently. I rolled my eyes, expecting Mika's number to appear, but, instead, it listed a number that I didn't recognized.

"Hullo?"

"Greetings. This is K."

I froze. 'K' could stand for 'Kira,' but that would be stupid, as the Kira wouldn't be that stupid, that arrogant. It had to be a prank call.

"Oh?" I pretended to sound worried.

"Yes, and this call is coming from inside your network."

Dial tone.

I was a bit intimidated by the ominous call, but I shrugged it off. Some dumb teens must have been punching in random numbers and succeeded to get mine.

But still, it was quite strange how they could accidentally-on-purposely get a hold of someone's number that was working on the Kira case...

**DUN...DUN...DUUUNNN!! Hmm...well, you like? R&R, plz, 'k thanks! **


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Death Note...I only own Demetra, Adelle, and Marie, Amayia, and the father, and Mika, Kyle, the concept of this, and the plot.**

A week later, everything returned to a depressing, murder-filled, pattern-deciphering routine without any phone calls from anyone. I was a little disappointed that Mika didn't bother to call me, but she was probably mad at me for hanging up on her so rudely. I made it a goal that I would call her later that day to apologize.

Ryuuzaki started to say something about his suspicions of the qualities of Kira increasing by a forgetful percentage. I couldn't help but to glance at Light, for Ryuuzaki has suspected Light as being the Kira for as long as I've been here. My mind raced back to the phone call from K. I noted that as Ryuuzaki talked, he kept fleeting looks continuously at Light. Then, my phone started to silently shake. I tried to conceal it, and I knew that no one else but me could hear it, but it was pretty annoying. I waited until Ryuuzaki was done talking to answer it. I learned from the last phone call to set it to vibrate. I walked out of the room, and in a hall I checked the number. It was the same number from last week. K was calling me again.

" 'Ello?"

"Hello. You know who this is. At five of the clock, you will come out of the building and wait at the entrance. You will see a limousine pull up to you. It will open its door and you will come in. There, we will discuss some matters."

"And what if I don't come out of the building and we don't discuss matters?"

K hung up.

I looked at my phone, as if it would give me an answer, and crept back to my laptop.

Without blinking or looking my way, Ryuuzaki typed on his keyboard and spoke. "Demetra, we were having a breakthrough with the Kira and you walked out to answer your phone. What was significant about your conversation?"

"Well," I glanced at Light and saw him unmoved by the conversation at his laptop. I wondered if he was trying to scare me off, or something, not wanting anyone new on the team to help, for people with a program in the computers can type words and make it sound like someone is talking when they call someone.

I knew Light had _something_ to do with the Death Note. A shinigami would sometimes follow him into the room. And since the shinigami recognized me, as I recognized him from thirteen years ago, he would laugh heartily at me. However, Light never seemed aware of the shinigami's presence.

In other words, Light was Kira.

But what could I say? _Oh,_ _hey, L, you know, Light has something to do with the case of the Kira 'cause I can see a shinigami with him, sometimes. No, I didn't need to touch the Death Note and become an owner of the notebook to see the shinigami so you don't have to suspect me, but you might want to be careful of Light, even though I don't have any proof that Light ever touched the Death Note either, since he doesn't seem to see, though that could very well be an act, but, hey, that's good information to know, and you trust me, right? Oh, you don't know about the Death Note existing, thus not knowing the rules? Oh, well, don't worry about it. I don't want you to know, anyway. But, please, don't suspect me._ But, seriously, I was trying to organize the facts that I _did_ have that would make sense and that Light would be illuminated in the light of truth, and hopefully, not my secret…so I'm not evil, or on Light's side…not completely, anyway.

I returned my eyes to L, even though he wasn't looking at me. "Well, some guy by the name of 'K' has been calling me, and he wants me to do some things that aren't in my interests. I don't know why he keeps calling me; I even tried to call him back some time ago, but it says that the number—K's number—doesn't exist. I started to wonder if K was follower of Kira. That's why I thought the calls were significant."

He ran his thumb over his lower lip. "That is very possible. Next time K calls, put it on speaker. Perhaps it is a lie, but perhaps it is something we could use."

I nodded and retreated to my computer screen. I looked at Light, but he acted as if he didn't hear us.

As if on cue, my phone vibrated. I announced that it was the K character and I put the phone on speaker and the strangely familiar voice spoke. "If you don't come, something might happen. At five of the clock, you _will_ wait by the entrance and you _will_ enter the limousine." The voice chuckled. "See you there."

Dial tone.

I hung up, too, and glanced helplessly at L.

He started to attempt to eat his thumb. He shifted his coal eyes to me but didn't move his head. "Go. Keep your cell phone on so we can listen for anything important."

I nodded. Then, Mastuda inquired, "Well, if this is Kira, or one of his supporters, how'd they get her cell phone number? Why would they only want her? Doesn't she have an alias, as well? Besides, what if something happens?"

L continued caressing his lip. "Demetra has a good understanding, as all of you do, of putting one's life on the line, and she agreed to do it, so this is only a part of what she has agreed to do."

Everyone remained silent and we all knew that L didn't answer all of the questions that Mastuda asked. Eventually everyone went back to their work. Most were studying security camera captions and analyzing murders at malls and bus stops and other public places.

Time seemed to pass both too fast and too agonizingly slow. Five o' clock came, so I prepared myself for anything. L told me to be cautious and alert, to look for anything that could be worth remembering. I nodded my head and went to the entrance of the building obediently.

I checked my cell phone to see if K was late. It was five o' clock on the dime, and when I looked back up to the streets, I saw a black limo waiting patiently for me at the curb. The door opened without the help of a hand, and I stepped in hesitantly. The door closed quickly behind me before I could situate myself in the seat, pushing me into the form of someone else in the seat. I immediately leaned back, away from the crazy capturer, but they wrapped their arms around me in a steel grip. In a childlike voice, the embracer squealed, "Dem-chan!"

_I knew that voice…_

She started crushing my lungs with her enfold, so I could only gasp, "Ack! Help, I'm being glomped to death!"

"Oh, sorry, Dem,"

After a silence, my phone started to yell. "The Kira can hug their victims to death?"

Then, a chorus shouted, "Shut up, Mastuda!"

"Dem, what the heck is that?" she let go of me, and as her hands brushed my arms in her withdrawal, they were shaking.

"_Baka_, it's on two-way, not—"

There was a beeping sound, and then all was quiet.

"Dem—"

"Oh, well, don't worry, Mika-chan, that was just some perved college ex-friend of mine and some of his friends. You know how college is. You give out your number 'cause you think you could keep the friendship going, then they turn into horny jerks, they prank call you, then they phone-stalk you—"

She giggled.

I chuckled to lighten the air. "You know?"

"No, I don't! And I don't want to! Now, I'm afraid to go to college!"

I suddenly felt embarrassed that everyone was listening to us B.S. like schoolgirls. The half-fake-half-real smile vanished from my face, even though it was dark in the limo and didn't matter, I solemnly yet as cheerfully as I could, asked, "Mika, are you K?"

She plastically laughed, "Oh, Dem, c'mon! That wasn't me, it was my fiancé!"

Then, the driver's voice, like mild thunder, said, "Hello, Demetra, I believe that we've conversed a bit before?" I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Nice to meet you…"

"Kyle. The name's Kyle. Kyle Andrew Sawatzki. Nice to meet you, too, Demetra Rebella Ackart."

I flinched at my middle and last name as they were annunciated perfectly. In spite of the names reminding me of the evil that I was to have, I thought the names were very pretty…evil could be so alluring…

Wait, how'd he know my full name? Mika must have spilt…crap, it was against the rules of Ryuuzaki's for our names to be flung carelessly into the world…

Then, Mika babyishly shouted, "Hi, I'm Mika Aiko Wailsonan!"

I became concerned that they're names were just made known to Light, who was suspected of being Kira by both Ryuuzaki and myself, but then shook it off, since he didn't see their faces.

I laughed, referring to her Japanese first name, Japanese middle name, and American last name, said, "Japanese, Japanese, _American_?"

"Shut up! You know that even though my parents were American, and our last name is Polish, they were _obsessed_ with Japan!"

"So they took the fun outta funning-up your name!"

"HEY!"

"Just kidding, you know I like your name. It fits you…'Mika' translates in to 'Luna', or of relating to the moon, and 'Aiko' means 'child', or 'happiness'. That you are…"

"No last name analysis?"

"Um…" I made a robotic sound. "Name can not be confirmed. You're too weird to be analyzed. Have a nice day. BEEP!"

She laughed as if it were the first joke she ever heard.

"Mika, it's not that funny….trust me, I'M NOT FUNNY!"

She laughed harder, and even Kyle chuckled.

"Come on, you guys!" I pleaded. "What's the deal? You two holding out on me? What's so funny?"

They laughed harder.

"Ugh! Guys, could you at _least_ tell me why you kidnapped me?"

"We didn't kidnap you…you came willingly!" Mika sniggered again.

"Oh, yeah, a threatening phone call is _so_ not convincing enough to do as your phone-stalker tells you to!"

She stopped. "Kyle—"

"Oh, come now, Demetra, I didn't _threaten_ you per say…"

"Oh, yeah, whatever!" I found it strange that I was talking to him so casually. I had just met him, and I was talking and joking with both of them as if there were no time-laps between our last encounter.

I mimicked Kyle's voice. "Greetings. You will come at five of the clock and wait for a mysterious-looking limo to pick you up. Waste no time. You _will_ come," I returned to my normal tone. "Then, you hung up when I questioned you!"

A light turned on in the back, and I saw his masculine form shrug.

I turned to Mika, and saw that she, visible in the light, barely changed since I last saw her. Her blonde hair was just past her shoulders with hot pink highlights and two inches of the tips were dark green, perfectly matching her eyes, even from…how many years ago…five years? Yes, five years ago…something was different…did she look sadder? Impossible…the apocalypse couldn't bring that girl down…what was it? Her eyes looked…changed…sullen…

_No_…

Her eyes were…helpless.

_But why?_ I tried to appear as if I didn't notice it.

"Come on, Mika-chan, why have you decided to get me into your limo? You know, I don't wanna sound…conceited, or arrogant, or whatever you're gonna call me after I say this, but you _did_ pull me away from work…"

She laughed evilly. "Yeah, you're such a workaholic. You changed since you got to Japan. Does Japan have this effect on everybody?... Too late. The only way you could get outta this limo is if you rolled down the window and jumped out! Kyle's driving! The vehicle is _actually moving_, so I couldn't get you back in time even if I wanted you to."

"Even if you wanted me to?" I echoed.

"Well, yeah…I told you about the wedding…" She glanced at Kyle. "And you're invited…and I wanted some help about where to have the ceremony around here."

My arms had a spasm. "WHAT? Mika, I _honestly_ thought that some Kira supporter kidnapped me!" I noticed that I raised my voice, so I lowered it. I hated it when people yelled, including myself. "I can leave the building eventually, so why didn't you wait till then?"

Her eyes trailed to her folded hands. "I'm…sorry…Dem-chan…" She started to whimper.

"Mika," I slid closer to her. "I didn't mean to yell,"

I offered her my hand, and instead, she flung into my figure, hiding her face in my shoulder. "It's not that! It is my fault! I'm sorry! But…but...I haven't seen you in _years,_ and whenever I do call you, you're cell isn't available! I leave a message, and you call back, but then I'm not available, so we just leave messages back and forth! When you finally answered your cell, which I didn't expect, I was _soooo_ happy, and I knew that I had to take the chance quick, or I'd never see you again! The wedding is in Japan, for goodness' sake! For you! I always wanted to be in Japan, and no one wanted to go to my wedding when it was in America!" Her form shook against mine, and I felt soooo guilty. I was so selfish…I didn't realize how much a wedding really meant to a person. I'm so stupid…

"Mika, I'm sorry. I didn't realize your situation. Feel free to kidnap me whenever you feel like. Just let me know it's you, 'k?"

She pushed herself away from me and had the stupidest grin on her face, tears forgotten. "Really? Golly…YAY!!"

"But,"

She moaned.

"I think you should take me back, now."

She groaned even louder. "But Dem-chan…can you at least look at _one_ building? I was looking at it earlier today. I swear, after this, I'll take you back, and if you get in trouble, you can blame Kyle."

I smiled. "Thanks, Mika-chan,"

Her grin brightened. "Welcome!"

Shortly, we came to a temple. We got out of the limo and walked up the temple's steps.

"Hey, Mika, you're Christian…and…Kyle is, too, right? So…"

"Oh! So, it's a non-denomination temple. All religions alike can worship and marry here….Well, what'dya think?"

"Well…" I wanted to say something quick, so no one would be angry—especially Ryuuzaki, I'd hate to upset the leader of the investigation—for wasting valuable time, but I also had to act casual in front of her. "It's…wonderful. It's a great idea. Love it. Love it to bits." I tried to sound convincing, but Mika looked gloomy.

"Mika, what's wrong?"

"I'll tell ya later, you know, when you can talk to me."

"Mika—"

"Let's get back in the car. I'll get you back to work."

We started to trudge down the steps, but then, like a light was turned on, she squealed, "Omigosh, I_ have_ to show you something fun!" She seized my hand and we raced back up the few steps we left.

"OK, sit on that thing," She instructed vaguely, pointing to the slanted, smooth part of the wall that was beside the steps.

"Oh, Mika, don't say that you want us to slide down?"

"Fine, then I won't say anything. I'll just make you do it."

"No, Mika—" Too late. She pushed me down the 'slide' of the temple. I was too surprised to yell, so my eyes were just wide open, and then, I laughed. It was a real laugh, uncontrollable, even. I couldn't remember the last time I was this happy.

Soon, Mika was descending along right behind me. She was laughing just as I was, too. We abruptly stopped and fell to the ground. "Ow!" We said simultaneously. Then, we continued laughing.

"I haven't done that since I was a kid! To slide down the railing of stairs! To slide down _anything._"

She tried to speak between outbursts of laughter. "I…do...it…all….the time!" She had more control of her chortling, but she was still under its spell. "Besides, you still _are_ a kid! You're only twenty three, and I'm nineteen! That's only a _four_ year difference! As long as I'm gonna be a kid, you will be, too."

"Hey, you did math!" we both chuckled. "Well, then, when are you gonna grow up?"

She shrugged. "Never!"

I flexed my arms. "Did we just disrespect a massive amount of non-denominated gods?"

She just shrugged and giggled.

We went back into the limo and rode in silence. It didn't last long. Mika, suddenly peppy and lively again, asked randomly, "So, Dem, who are ya gonna bring to the wedding as your escort?"

I stuttered, forming words pathetically. "I—ugh—um, p—I—I doan know…probably no one—"

"Aw, Dem! You antisocial, introverted prude!"

I tilted my head at her, perplexed at her word choices to describe me.

"You were always like this! You're frickin' twenty three years old and you _still_ don't have a boyfriend! You never had one! One time, some guy asked you out, but you said 'Noo-ooo-oo!'"

"He was some weirdo at high school! He did drugs all the time! He was drunk all the time, too! He got suspended! Then, expelled! He raped a lot of girls but didn't go to jail! Not even juvy! He scared me! He was a Satanist! He was a neo-Nazi, too! Would you rather of had me date him and converted into a cult leader's partner? Get date-raped? You're a sick friend!"

She giggled. "Oh, well, yeah, I forgot that part…"

"Well, you shouldn't have!" I crossed my arms, feigning anger.

"We-e-ll-ll… is there anyone at work that's totes hot?"

"Um…no?"

"Omigosh, there is! Who? Who is it? Tell me! Who?"

"Um…a figment of my imagination?"

"Pfffft! Whatev! Tell me, be serious, Dem!"

Changing the subject, I said "How'd you get your parents to _not_ come to your wedding? They _love_ Japan! Didn't they come here once?"

"My parents are…they couldn't afford it. Even though Kyle wanted to pay for them, they…just…didn't…you know, I hate my parents for treating me like this! Just 'cause I'm getting married doesn't mean that I'm mature enough to live my entire life without them! Don't you hate it when parents act like total jerks?"

I tried to recall the happy times I had with my mother and sister to argue with her, but the only memories imprinted in my mind were their deaths. "I…can't remember how my parents treated me…"

"Oh, then, sorry, I forgot. I'm still angry with them, though."

"Someday, as corny as this sounds, you're gonna like the times you had with them, even some of the not-so-smooth ones." I sighed. "I know I do…"

"How'd your parents die, anyway?"

"Ugh—" I tried to say 'in an accident,' but I couldn't even lie about it. "I—don't… want to… talk about it…"

She sighed, ignorant to my attempts to not cry. "Why not? It's been _thirteen_ years! If you can't talk about it now, when can you?"

_Oh, gee, I watched my mom die and it's my fault! I've been 'blessed' with dark magic, and, you know, moving on, for some reason, isn't as easy as you think!_

I just stared out the window, knowing that even if I tried, I couldn't talk from the lump in my throat.

"Fine," She huffed. Then, she smirked, and said, "So, who's the hottie at work?"

"Um, well, Mika—"

The limo slowed, and we were at the entrance of the building. I thanked whatever power that had a love for me to make the building appear, for the limo driver to cut the engine.

"Bye, Mika-chan!"

"Oh, pooh, bye, Dem-chan! Can we talk later?"

I pressed my pointer finger to my lips. I held out a key and scribbled on a piece of note paper, _Spare_ _key to room 13 at the building across form where we are now, my apartment._

She gasped, then beamed and jumped up and down in her seat. I kept my finger on my lips, implying for her to be quiet about it. I didn't want the lovely eavesdroppers on the line of my cell phone to listen to me give away a key to my apartment.

I started to exit the car, then turned back, and asked, "Mika, do you know anything about the Kira? Any thoughts?"

"Why are you so obsessed over the Kira? Then again, it is pretty scary, and you're in Japan, so it's even scarier for you. Well, I think the Kira can kill in other ways, you know, other than heart attacks."

"Why do you suppose this?"

"'Cause a lot of criminals have been dying from accidents or suicides! This is the highest rate of accidents and suicides, and the lowest rate of crime! That's why!"

"How do you feel about the Kira, Mika-chan?"

"Well, I admire them for what they want, and the intelligence to kill criminals, but the Kira has been killing people other than criminals, and that's not right!"

"Oh, well, thanks." I started to leave again.

"Hey, what about you?"

"Well, I think the Kira…well, I agree with you, actually. I agree."

"Really? You think the people dying _should_ die?"

"Only those that deserve it. Legally speaking, the ones that are in jail. Not the ones that are mere suspects. A suspect is innocent till proven otherwise. You know?"

"Yeah… hey, why'd you suddenly bring it up?"

I suddenly wondered why that as Mika and I talked, Kyle didn't even try to talk with us after we came back in the limo. He didn't seem shy…

"'Cause I'm a loser with nothing else to talk about besides worshipping the ground you walk on 'cause you're getting married before me." I tried to hold a straight face, but ended up laughing, killing the sarcasm.

She laughed with me. "This is the Dem I know."

I waved, and entered the building again. As I walked, the limo sped over to my apartment, and I saw the nineteen year old skip up the steps, leaving the limo behind, waving eagerly to me, then fading into the apartments building's door.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Death Note...I just own Demetra, Mika, Kyle, the mother of Demetra, the father of Demetra, Adelle, the idea/concept of this, the plot, and this story.**

"And you were just waltzing around, _goofing off_? Why didn't you just immediately get out when you realized—"

Soichiro Yagami was cut off by Mastuda "But how could she? She couldn't lie like that to a friend!"

"And why not?"

"The kid would've gotten suspicious! If they were planning so long to somehow talk besides the phone, why would she just disappear because of her job? Not many jobs our like this one—"

I followed whoever spoke next, my head bobbing back and forth like I was watching an ongoing tennis match.

I sighed as quietly as I could. I was on the couch, next to L. Bored with their tedious arguing, my mind desired to drift away from the yelling mess. Out of the corner of my eye, Ryuuzaki was aloof, altogether bored, watching the two bounce back and forth about my time with Mika as he sucked the cream out of a doughnut in his usual squatting position.

"Soichiro, Mastuda," L said flatly. "We shall solve nothing by arguing of a seemingly pointless surveillance. The child, Mika, seems utterly harmless, dumb to the subject, even. She is also forgetful and unobservant enough to not realize tension and surveillances. As we all know, Demetra used this, knowing the girl before we did, and did a sloppy job of questioning, knowing that if it was done in a more sufficient matter, she would only get the same results."

I didn't particularly like that L down-talked my friend, but I was also glad that he didn't suspect her and kind of stood up for me, since I knew I did a poor job, even if it was for the sake of his own eardrums.

Soichiro glared at me, as if I were a child that he were scolding, and turned back to the screens that showed murders at a subway.

Mastuda glared at the floor, closed his eyes, shrugged, and joined Soichiro.

I rested my chin on my hand and exhaled. I started to get up, but L stopped me.

"Demetra," he began. I turned, and he was still staring into the space that Mastuda and Soichiro were arguing at as if it were still happening. I sat back down, waiting for him to continue. "How do you know this Mika Aiko Wailsonan?"

I gazed at a space that was nearby L's staring point. "Ah, well, we were friends in school. I knew her since she was…twelve, when she was in sixth grade, and when I was sixteen, in college."

"How could such an age difference bring you two together?"

_Um, why do you care?_

"Well," I looked up at the ceiling, trying to recall when we first met, or when we first befriended each other, or both, since we met and were instantly compatible. "On a weekend, I believe, I was in a candy shop. In the candy shop, a girl needed a dollar for whatever sweet she was buying. I had already purchased some things, so I popped back in line, handed her the dollar, and went on my way. Before I got too far from the exit, the girl stopped me, thanked me, and we introduced each other. We first talked of our favorite sweets, then the conversation drifted, and I suppose we had a lot of things in common. We exchanged numbers and email addresses, and have been friends ever since. There's not much of an age gap, it just seems like it because I was in college at the time that she was in elementary school."

"Isn't that a good enough age gap to question?"

_To question what?_

"Well, no, there is only a four year difference. It only seems greater than that because I skipped two grades, ending up in college when I was sixteen."

"But if it seems to be greater, wouldn't that illusion of a great age gap affect your relationship?"

"No," I said simply.

He grabbed a sucker out of his pocket, unwrapped it, and stuck it in his mouth. He took it out, twirled it between his finger tips, studied it, and said, "That is all I needed, Demetra."

Not knowing what to say, I just nodded and went to my laptop, looking at more in-jail suicides.

After a while, I didn't hear the sound of the videos of surveillance cameras or bugged public places, so I swiftly looked around and concluded no one else was here, besides Ryuuzaki. Maybe after all of the time of eating sugar, it built up enough so that he didn't need sleep to survive. Maybe that crouch of his prevented form the chemicals in your body to be sleepy. Maybe he was the boogieman. Possibly.

With this, I still felt fascinated by him; I still felt a strange fondness for him. It was stupid, but I did. Actually, maybe I didn't like him at all, maybe I was only fascinated with his strange behavior, and maybe I was only awed by his intelligence, and maybe, I only admired him and wanted to be like him, to be a great detective.

Or maybe it was too late to even think about anything.

I bid a farewell to L, his pale skin looking blue from the light that shot out from his computer screen, giving him the effect that he was under water…or was an alien….

I walked out the building and saw Matsuda walking to his car.

_Hmm, it can't be too late, then._

He heard the door behind me close with a thud, and he suddenly whipped around.

I waved an apology. "Sorry! Didn't mean to disturb you!"

He half smiled. "Not a problem, you didn't disturb anything." His smile faded into a subtle upward line. He appeared to be confused about something.

"Matsui, Is something wrong?"

He furrowed his brow at me, like he was puzzled. "No, everything is fine…"

"Well, OK, but you had a certain look on your face that I was concerned about…"

He nervously shoved his hands in his pockets, gaping curiously at me.

"Look, Matsui, I'm sorry, but is something wrong?"

"Well, not really, I mean, it's none of my business, so…"

"Matsui, tell me what's wrong! If I can't fix it, I'll at least try to give you some form of advice."

He looked at the ground, then back at me. "I just never knew that you could laugh…"

He seemed to be trying to memorize my face, only to suddenly stare at the ground again. "S—sorry, _Miyuki_, I knew it was rude of me…"

He used my fake name. I would have chuckled at it, it fitting me perfectly, it meaning 'silence of the deep snow,' but I couldn't; I was frozen. I couldn't believe that it was true. I noticed that my mood had lifted since I talked to Mika, and that I haven't laughed in the longest time, but I didn't realize that _other_ people had realized it. Sure, Mika commented on it, but she comments on everything, and she _did_ want to just give me any excuse just so I could horse around with her, like we were kids…

Matsuda looked concerned at my discontinuation of movement, so I snapped myself out of it. "I—"

"It wasn't my business anyway!" He started to enter his car.

"Hey, hold up!" He stopped, looking guiltily up at me. "Thanks for caring, honest, I mean it. I didn't really noticed how unhappy I was until you mentioned it,"

He looked away. "Well, I like your laugh…" He looked back up at me and smiled. "You should do it more often!"

I chuckled. "Thanks! I like your smile_ and_ your laugh! You manage to do it in a place and time like this! That takes talent!"

"Yeah, well…look, I don't mean to hold you up. It's getting late; I'll see you here tomorrow. Bye!"

I stepped away from the car. "G'bye!"

I headed to my apartment, seeing the window to my apartment already had a light on.

--

"Honey, I'm H-o-me!" I called, closing the door.

There was a series of thumping descending from my bedroom to the room I was in, which was the kitchen, and I was attacked by adolescent affection. She hugged me till I couldn't breathe and squealed how she couldn't wait to hang out with me now that we were 'house buddies.'

"Um, 'house buddies?'"

"Yeah! I wanna move in with you!"

I pushed her away. "But—but Mika, you're engaged! Where are you living now that you're in Japan?"

"With Kyle in his mansion,"

"And you want to crash on my couch instead of having a gazillion bedrooms in your fiancé's home?"

"Yes," She said, casting her gaze to the floor guiltily.

"Should we go to my room and talk?"

She nodded, and lead me to my bedroom. We sat on the mattress, both of us cross-legged, facing each other, me at the head of the bed where my pillow was, and her at the foot of it where the blankets were folded at.

"Mika, aren't you excited 'bout your wedding?"

"Yeah, but remember that I wanted to talk to you 'bout something?"

"Ugh-hugh, then you suddenly became sad about it."

"Well…as my best friend, my only one at that, you should know something about it."

_I was her best and only friend? She's a teenager, don't they have a billion and one best friends? And even more buddies or pals?_

Then again, I didn't have many friends when I was in high school…I had a few, but after college, no matter how many times I'd call or email them, they didn't respond, so I assumed that they thought they were too cool for me, and I was perfectly content with that.

"Me and Kyle…" She began, "Are engaged, but I'm not happy with it."

My brows raised in curiosity and sympathy.

"You know my family, we're not rich, and we're not poor, but we're on the lower-end of the middle class…well, my dad got sued 'cause of some car accident, and we lost, and our lawyer, _Mr. Sawatzki_, who is frickin' filthy rich, asked my parents if he could marry me. They told me that I was to marry him no matter what, as the accident took all of our money."

I gasped, but before I could say anything, she cut me off. "No, no, he's not some old perv! He was best friends with my dad since they were in school, and everyone realizes that the marriage is strictly 'professional,' as in once we're hooked, we can lead our lives like we always did. I don't even have to wear the wedding ring on my left ring finger. But I can never get married to someone if I love them! And neither can he! It's pointless! I don't see why he can't just hand over a check to my dad if they're such good buddies! They _want_ to make me miserable! They want to! They—" she was interrupted by her own quivering breaths and sobs.

She surrendered into my embrace. I wanted to tell her how sorry I was for her misfortune, but I could say nothing.

_If I could do anything, could I hurt enough to let her not marry?_

"How old is this guy?" I asked.

She sniffed, "Twenty-eight,"

"Hm. A nine year difference…"

"I know! It's horrible! I don't even know him! They fed me crap why he can't just hand over a check; he said that he's not rich enough to hand over money. He has a lot of money, but not enough to give away. He said he could share it, not dispose of it. Dispose of it! What does that mean?" She pushed me away as if she still wanted me to hug her. "He said he could afford to let my family move into his huge, over-the-top mansion-house, but he can't afford to buy us a house, to buy us better jobs, to buy ourselves out of debt!

"My whole family is going to move in with him, like we're going to move back and fourth between our mansion in Japan and in America, and he said that he put all of his money in those houses, and I guess it's cool that we move into a better house, instead of living in our small one, and that he said eventually, after the marriage, he can pay our bills as long as we chip in. What is with this guy? He's rich, he's smart, but he's _ridiculous_!

"I mean, I knew that he and my dad were tight, but I wouldn't think that they'd want to be a big happy family! Then, he shot some garbage at us for excuses why he can't, like," she mimicked his voice, "Oh, my job doesn't allow me to give away my money freely," her tone became normal again, "What job cares about how you use your money? Why would a _lawyer's_ job care how he uses his money?" She cried hard, and I let her soak up my shirt with her tears. Eventually, she calmed, and she seemed to be asleep.

I dragged her torso so she would be lying flat with her head on my pillow. I sighed, turning away from the pitiful sight of an emotionally-dying friend. I opened my window and leaned on the sill. I rested my cheek on the palm of my hand. My other hand slipped to the pocket of my skirt and I felt the pocket knife. Before I prevented him from marrying her, I wanted to know why her family's money problems had to be solved through marriage of a family friend, instead of Kyle just giving them money. If I cut myself, I'd know.

Of course, I could inflict any other pain unto myself, but cutting was the easiest. The cleanest. The least amount of evidence. Easy. Cutting.

Before I could do anything, a floating form appeared before me.

"Hello, Dearie," The figure greeted.

I sighed. I hated that I recognized the voice.

"Hello, Adelle,"

She sighed in return. "You sound so sad."

I looked her in the eye and sighed again.

"I know why the man wants her," She said. "And you know how to find out,"

"Why do you care, Adelle? Why are you here?"

"Oh, you know that I like to pop in unexpectedly to have a little chat," She fixed herself so she was cross-legged in the air, floating in front of me at a level that it would feel remotely normal to talk to her.

She was right, that she did randomly come by just to talk to me, but it was mostly riddles that I grew bored of. This was only because since my sister committed suicide when she was twenty-three, it was then that she decided to kill herself, that's just when she had to choose. Be Adelle's side-kick or die. She died when she was twenty-three.

Through this, Adelle wanted to keep her living assistant. She wanted me to live and be her worker, her inferior, as she was a goddess and I was a cursed mortal. And with this, that since I turned twenty-three, she'd been visiting more frequently that I liked. I would preferred it if she just disappeared.

"But, tonight, there's something you should know," She got my attention, her tone different from her usual warnings and puzzles. "You are being watched."

"Who's watching me?"

"L. Ryuuzaki. He's watching you."

My eyes widened, but I tried to act clueless, not knowing how he was watching me.

"Where—"

"In his usual hiding place. He has cameras all over your house, including the bathroom, so he can see _everything_."

I tried to breathe, but could only suck in my own words. "L suspects me of being Kira?"

She nodded.

"Er—well—_only_ me? No, no….he _has _to be doing it to everyone else…right?"

She shook her head. "You. He suspects you."

"For how long has he been watching?"

"Hmmm…" She pressed her pointer finger to her cheek. "A day of two after you started your part on the Kira case."

"But if he's watching, will he think that I'm talking to a shinigami right now?"

She flipped her hair arrogantly. "As a goddess, I'm letting the cameras see what I want them to see. I only want them to see you staring out the window, blown away by the news from your friend."

"But how will I do everything?"

"You mean to hurt yourself and others," She paused and grinned, "For benefit? For magic? Well, you're gonna have to find a blind spot, or do it outside in a secluded area. Or do it in front of the cameras, but hurt enough so that he won't see you hurting."

"So I'll have to beat myself up to make illusions and then do whatever I want to do that involves magic, making the cameras see something normal?"

"Yes. You're a smart girl, you can do it." She giggled dryly. "You take after me, you know. And as one of my own, you can get your way. I know you can. You take after me."

Then she disappeared.

I whispered so low that it was barely audible to my own ears. "I know I can."


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Death Note...I own Demetra, Adelle, Mika, Kyle, Marie ( Demetra's mother), Demetra's father, the concept of this, the plot, and this story. Don't steal.**

I slept on the couch in my small living room, having nightmares about Mika's wedding. I woke up, dazed, still tired, and stretched.

My right hand didn't move. Suddenly awake, my eyes widened, and I saw Mika holding my hand, doing something to my nails.

_She was painting my nails…._

"Mika!"

She looked up, childishly happy and innocent looking in spite of her uniquely dyed hair. "Oh, hey, sleepy head! I woke up a few hours ago 'cause I had to go to the bathroom, so I did that, took a shower, and saw you asleep on the couch." She went back to working on my nails. "And you know, how long has it been since you did your nails? They're awful! They're hideously long and creepy looking!" She blew on my nails and displayed them to me. "Now they're _so_ you! I knew you'd like this look 'cause you did it once before in college." I examined my nails, and saw that she painted them all black and each nail had a pink dot in the middle.

Still groggy form the morning, I shook my head in disbelief, not at the fact that I slept through a manicure, but that she went to the bathroom, bathed, as the room is _being watched._

Pretending to not know about the cameras, I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the manicure,"

"You're welcome! I even did your toes, too!"

I sighed and shifted my eyes to my feet. My toe nails were all black with a red dot in the middle. I was suddenly conscious of all the cuts I had on my feet, my toes having shallow cuts where they can bend, deeper gashes on the top of my feet, and parallel lines along the arches of them.

"I thought that the toes and fingers should be different colors, but not too different. Also, you don't have that many colors in polish, so I had to work with what I had. Besides, Dem, what the heck did you do to your feet? Just look at them!"

"And you felt comfortable raiding my room and painting my nails without my permission?" I inquired, changing the subject.

She shrugged. "Don't blame me, I was bored!"

I growled. "But I _do_ blame you, that's the problem, it_ is_ your fault."

I knew that she didn't do anything wrong, but I also felt annoyed that she couldn't take responsibility for_ being_ irresponsible and rude. I didn't care if we had been best friends for years, she shouldn't feel comfortable to snoop through my room and decorate my nails while I slept.

A thought ran into my mind.

"Mika…you don't have any clean clothes….but you took a shower—"

"Oh, well, I borrowed your clothes! Besides your boring work wardrobe, you have awesome gothic, punk, and comfy clothes!"

It suddenly sunk in my brain that her outfit was familiar to me.

"And my—"

"Oh, yeah, well, I put your washer on and washed my clothes! I did some of yours that were similar colors, too."

I sighed in relief. To state the obvious, I didn't want her snooping through my undergarments. "Look, Mika, I gotta get ready—"

"OK! I'll make you breakfast!"

"What? Since when do you cook?"

"Since never. I looked in your kitchen and you have cereal in there, so I was gonna get that for us."

I grunted, "Whatever," and ran to the bathroom. I got goose bumps, knowing that I was being watched in every room, especially the bathroom, but tried to act as indifferent as I could. I grabbed a clean towel form the bathroom closet and took a cold shower to wake myself up, doing it as fast as I could, not wanting to be _looked_ at for too long, investigation or not.

As I wrapped the towel around my form, I realized that I didn't bring clean clothes in the bathroom with me to rest on the shelf next to the sink.

I stumbled to my room, and saw Mika rummaging through my closet. "You took too long," she complained, not looking at me. "I ate without you, and I'm picking out your outfit. Here," She tossed me seemingly random clothes. "This is what you'll where."

I threw the garments on my bed and gestured for her to get out.

"No, come one, I'm not a perv! I'm a girl, too! I'll just do my hair while you get dressed."

I rolled my eyes, finding no point in wasting time to argue with her. I had grown used to years of junior high and secondary school gym locker rooms, so I didn't mind that she was in the same room, but I did mind the cameras that I didn't bother to find locations of.

I ended up looking almost exactly like her, having a plain white collared shirt, a black skirt, black heels, and a blood-red tie.

I opened the closet door, trying to get a jacket to make myself look a bit more suited for my job.

"Hey, what are you doin'?"

"Getting a jacket that's supposed to be part of a suit."

"You're changing?"

"No, I'm getting a jacket to make the tie and white shirt look a bit more professional, less punk-casual."

I saw that she was watching me through the reflection of the mirror, and I could see her reflection, too. She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You're no fun. And neither is your job. Or your job's dress-code. Usually, you love crap like that."

"I do, but I don't fell like wearing it to work,"

"Why?"

"I just don't feel comfortable in casual clothes at my job."

"Why?"

"'Cause, if I were to dress casually, I would have this—" I raised my manicured nails accusingly at her, "kind of fashion statement! I would distract the people…or actually, myself. I would be too busy looking at my nails all day!" I laughed, finding it funny that I just made a punch line by simply stating the truth.

"Why?"

"Shut up!"

She spritzed some perfume on me and laughed. "So is your job filled with prep-supporters?"

I sighed. "Look, whatever, I don't want to take too long."

I rushed to the kitchen and chowed down my soggy cereal without tasting it. Mika stayed with me and talked as I ate, but I didn't pay a bit of attention to what escaped her mouth. I brushed my teeth, and even as I closed the bathroom door in her face, she still talked.

Getting out of the flat, she stopped me as I closed the door. "Where's your car?"

"I don't have one,"

"Why? They're cool! I'm gonna get one." She grumbled, "When I get married to Kyle."

"They're expensive, and really hard to park, and traffic is a mess. I'd rather walk. It's only across the street, so I don't care."

"Oh. Bye!" she waved eagerly as I waved back and didn't look behind myself to check and see what she was going to do the rest of the day.

--

"I won't go in unless _she _is." Light spat, bartering his rules for confinement.

"And, why, Light-kun, would you want her in confinement, as well?" L shot back.

"If my father, who has done nothing wrong, must be in conferment, then she must be able to, too!"

"Yes, of course Light-kun, but you're father would have done horrible, unconscious things if he were not. Does Demetra have personal reasons to be in confinement, as well?" Ryuuzaki turned to me.

"No, I don't."

Light had the slightest twitch to his mouth, and said, "You should go for your own health, _Demetra_." He spat out my name like it was a disease. Then again, it practically was.

I froze. I knew it the night I discovered L's spying, but now, it's shock finally took over me.

Since the first day of joining this, I have been monitored.

Since the first day of joining this, L has seen me cut myself.

Oh, _crap._

All of those times that something happened, theme music would run and my amazing pain would come in, making everything else better.

Oh, _crap._

L seemed interested, but wary of Light's personality change, actually caring for others instead of implying the phrase 'screw it.'

"Yes, but it is up to Demetra if she wants her own health to be saved."

"And you don't care if she doesn't stop…she just…might…die?"

L sighed. "It is her—"

Matsuda, of course, had to interrupt. "How did you two know she…?"

"I have suspected Demetra of having a part in Kira's progress, thus monitoring her home, discovering that she did not have anything to do with Kira, I was planning to take out the cameras and wire taps soon; however, now that Yagami-kun seems to be connected to Demetra, and I suspect Light Yagami of being Kira, the cameras and wire taps will stay. But yes, I did find that she cut herself."

Frig! I had to do something…..not suspicious. "If Light is concerned about my health and self-control, then to let him have peace of mind, I shall willingly go into confinement.

Matsuda passionately disagreed. "As much as I trust Light-kun, you don't have to do this!"

I shrugged. It wouldn't make that much of a difference, anyway. Either way, somehow Light knew that I cut myself. Either way, I would try to contact Adelle and figure things out. "If Light is persistent and determined to…if he's concerned enough, I will."

Everyone's jaw dropped, of course, besides L's and Light's. L, always being distant from most things anyway, and the insane prodigy had a look of complete helplessness and care.

He had to be Kira. I knew it. Why else would he want me in confinement? This was his charming way of getting me to realize that he was Kira, eliminating my suspicion and giving me underhanded proof, and he knew that I couldn't do much about it unless I exposed myself, and even though I could take it back in the matter of a painful second, Adelle wouldn't let me. She wanted me to keep it a secret. She didn't want anyone to know about gods, goddesses, and shinigami.

But how'd he know?

A shinigami.

Great. But what reward would a shinigami be given if they told Light about this? What would they gain? Shinigami wouldn't have any care if anyone knew about Adelle, and especially _me._

Light was definitely Kira, but it didn't make sense about _why_ he knew.

He not only had_ something_ to do with the Kira, _he was Kira._

But why? Why would a shinigami want Light to have a Death Note? Ryuuk, especially? _Ryuuk, the shinigami that spoke to Adelle thirteen years ago._ Ryuuk, who was very heartless, and though liked to have a good time, didn't want to be ignored.

He always wanted to be entertained, always, as nothing ever affected him, so he needed real action as his entertainment.

_Was he bored?_

Crap! _Ryuuk was bored!_ And to have a good time, he gave a good student with a good background and an important father his Death Note, and probably told him e_verything_ about _everything_ to see how the genius would handle _everything._

_Ryuuk….he caused this…he ruined everything…_

But that didn't make sense either. It seemed too purposed, too planned out…a long, complicated and underhanded plan…something Adelle would do…

Adelle was the answer. This was all about her wanting it to involve me, wanting to see how I handle situations; if I were to be her servant, she'd want me to be useful and to be able to work under pressure. Adelle told Light. She, of course, had to be watching me if she knew about Ryuuzaki watching me. With this, she saw Light at headquarters and paid him a visit.

_Crap._

L pulled on his lip indifferently. "Fine, then Demetra shall go into confinement."

Great. Just great. I'd have to remind myself to thank Light later, if I don't kill him or myself by then.

--

My eyes drooped. There was nothing to do but doze off. Even though I wasn't handcuffed like Light was supposed to and I was much better off then Misa, the boredom was unimaginably unendurable. I spent most of my time daydreaming, getting lost in thought, or thinking of how to entertain myself.

No nothing. I could only get out to go to the bathroom, and even then, I stayed in there longer then necessary, studying the mirror, just because it was a different activity to do besides thinking.

I didn't like the mirror. My skin was paler, my eyes were dead, and my hair was greasy and undone. I stank of sweat and faded perfume. I was all around repulsive, but I tried to keep my attitude alive, not wanting to sell myself out to an empty room.

Eventually, someone appeared into the room. I took a long inhale through my nose.

"Dear Demetra, how could you let yourself in a crummy situation like this? You're the daughter of a goddess, and you're letting yourself be treated like this?"

I stayed silent, not acknowledging her presence.

"This is tedious. Light knows, but who cares? He has a shinigami possessing him. They know you cut yourself, but they don't know why. When you get out, you make some damage to make them forget, replacing the memories with normal events. My daughter shouldn't be treated like this."

I knit my brows, finding it unlike her to show actual concern about me.

"Oh, I do care about you, you_ are_ my child, and, now, I'd like to give you a bit more information about your future."

I shifted my eyes to the ceiling, hoping that a lightning bolt would strike her down.

"See, since I want you, and since I am a goddess, that would make you something important, to be at the side of a goddess." She paused, waiting for me to react. I didn't. I heard that before.

"I suppose it would make you a goddess squatter," she giggled at her own bad joke. "See, when you become my assistant…my partner…my ally, you will get powers, but your curse will remain."

I exhaled noisily.

"As my ally, I will grant you powers, but I can also take them away as I choose. Curses are different than abilities. You can't undo magic, even with magic, sweetie, and you know you've tried it before,"

_Yeah, I know. The cuts were pointless, not doing a thing…wasted pain…_

Another voice popped into my head._ Like to be able to communicate by thought._

No! To have her in my head would be torture!

_No!_

_Yes. You can only do it now because I wanted to illustrate to you a mere, comparably little thing that you'll be able to do. You would be able to communicate to others by thought, as well, and enable them only when you want to…_

I butt in._ Monster!_

She filled my head with her precious laughter. _And you'll have the sight to see someone's real name and how many days they have before they die. They are shinigami eyes, but I am not a shinigami…just a goddess, a witch…so I only refer to it as 'the Sight.'_

_And many other things that I'll tell you about later. Just remember: The change of being human to supernatural is vastly taking. It will take a lot form you, and it will require great sacrifice. In one way or the other, in more than one. But, for now, since you refuse to help yourself, I'll get you out of here. It's terribly annoying, here._

Then nothing happened. I turned to her general direction.

_What—_

She grabbed my head so I couldn't move it, and with her free hand, squeezed my nostrils shut and sealed my mouth. With her power, she tightened an invisible grip round my throat. When I could feel myself turning colors form lack of air, she put another force around me so I couldn't move any part of my body. She removed her hand from my head and gave me a blow to the stomach. Since I couldn't move, and she enabled me to speak, I could only groan with pain.

"Demetra," The robotic voice of L's speaker ripped the intense air. "Are you all right? You were holding in quite strongly until a moment ago. Are you OK?"

Her power removed itself from me and I slumped over and fell out of the metal folding chair.

"Demetra!" L's voice sounded more urgent than before. "What's wrong?"

The air was knocked out of me, and I was nearly strangled, so I just gasped for air unsuccessfully.

Another voice came on. It had to be Matsuda's. It sounded more worried, more emotional. "Demetra, get up! Demetra, answer! Demetra—"

The speaker was cut off, and in a slow minute, Soichiro and Matsuda surrounded me. They each took an arm, but then dropped me, realizing that that made my breathing more difficult. Aizawa came in right after them and they all teamed up to drag me out of the cell, then letting me rest on the floor.

"Demetra," Aizawa pulled me up so I was sitting up right, being supported by all of their hands. "Can you talk?"

I tried to scream "I'M FINE! LET ME BREATHE!" but I could only manage to cough, which only seemed to get their bodies to close in even tighter around me.

"Can you hear us?" Soichiro continued.

I nodded, but the slight movement of my head seemed to close the opening of my throat, so my gasps were more frequent and shallow, less satisfying and more frantic.

After a few long seconds, I could only wheeze, "I'm…fine…I—"

"Demetra, breathe!" cried Matsuda.

"I…can…I just—"

"Stop talking! It'll only make it worse!"

_Aw, gee, darling, you're getting better. I'll fix that._

My eyes widened, and I suddenly felt as if I received a hit to the throat. My eyes watered as I struggled for the stability of air, making burbling noises when sadly attempting to get intakes of it.

I heard Matsuda ask Soichiro, "Was it Kira—?"

"We don't know, Matsuda! Only if she doesn't live!"

Aizawa tried to straighten me when I slouched down, the lack of air making me dizzy, and the world seemed to spin when he kept me upright. I helplessly clutched my leg, pinching it to make sure I could still feel. I could, which was good. I pinched myself harder; trying to make breathing easier, but a mere pinch can do nothing for a blow to the gut and throat and a forced closure to the nose and mouth.

They all helped me to stand up, and I didn't have trouble with that, but if those dang men wanted me to live, they would have let me fold myself to breathe easier. But of course they didn't. They all tried to get me to have my back straight as a line, saying that it would get my organs and lungs open and to be able to swell with air.

But magic outplays science and health, any day.

A few minutes after I got my breath back, Matsuda started, "After this, do we have a reason to keep her here, any more?"

"No," Aizawa replied. "We have a plan for them, she could help, maybe, if she recovers and stays that way."

That caught my attention. "I…am fine….what do you want me to help with?" I replied, making my breathing more even and straightening myself away from their support.

"We were just finished talking with Ryuuzaki, who said that we could fake an execution to make them confess."

"Interesting…I think that would work…"

**Just so everybody knows, this chapter and the next chapter ONLY will go almost exactly by the anime episodes. ONLY THIS CHAPTER (CHAPTER 5) AND CHAPTER 6 WILL BE 'JUST DEATH NOTE AND AN OC..' OK? Got that? All the opther chapters will be as original as my OC, which, you know...is pretty darn original. **

**So, you understand? This chapter and the next one only will be almost exactly like the anime episodes becasue if they weren't, later on, the original stuff that I put in wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. However, you'll get what I mean later on. I might even point out some things in author's notes to let you know how some thigns couldn't have happened without going almost identically with the anime.**

**Thanks for reading the A/N!! Please Read and Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Death Note...I own Demetra, Adelle, Mika, Kyle, Marie (Demetra's mother), Demetra's father, the concept of this, the plot, and this story. Don't steal.**

**Hmm...I think this is the shortest chapter in the story...sorry about that...I'll update sooner, I promise, and it'll be longer...perhaps slightly longer than normal. Satisfied? I am. Tell me what you think!**

"Father!" cried Light, cringing, preparing himself for the gunshot to his head.

BANG!

But…it was a blank.

"A blank?" Light questioned.

Misa was still crying, so no matter what she said, we just ignored her, not knowing what she was saying anyway.

I nodded. "Yes, a blank."

Soichiro talked to the mirror, referring it as 'Ryuuzaki,' and L responded, just as we had planned it. Too bad there was no confession.

We drove back in perfect silence after the questions were answered.

--

"The police have stopped hunting Kira,"

Everyone in the room audibly gasped at Soichiro's solemn statement.

We were all cops, minus Light and L… so then what were we doing?

"So in order to pursue Kira, we must submit our resignation!"

We all thought the same thing. Without being a police officer, where would our money come from? I guess we would have to look for another job…but we all knew how easy _that_ would be.

He continued. "Without quitting the police force, it is impossible to hunt Kira!"

"What do you mean?" Aizawa asked quickly.

"'It's simple: If you decide to pursue Kira, you're fired.' That's what we were just told."

Matsuda paused, then said, "And so, Chief, you…?"

"I will no longer be Chief. But all of you have your lives. Think carefully about this."

I had a life, but I didn't like it. I didn't really have a need for money. That's what pain was for. It was for everything. I just tried to fit in as best as I could, but added with some things that I actually wanted to do, like being a police officer. If I were to be evil, I could at least bring _some_ justice to the world and stop_ some_ evil.

Matsuda murmured, "That's right…especially those that have wives and kids…"

Aizawa stepped back from us. He had a family to care for.

In front of his computer screen, handcuffed to Light, Ryuuzaki told us that he'd prefer if we all returned to the police force. "I was alone to begin with, and I thank all of you for sticking around until now. But I _can_ do it alone. And I shall show all of you Kira when he is captured."

"Ryuuzaki," Light interrupted. "As long as I'm around, you're not alone." He raised his hand to display the obviously clanking chain. "I've got this promise, too."

"Right, so only Yagami-kun shall stay with me until we catch Kira, but everyone else must return to the police force."

"But Ryuuzaki," I argued. "We have risked our lives thus far. If we quit now, we are still at risk, and if we stayed, at least the risk would have a purpose. We could leave now, but if Kira managed to kill officers without the information we suspected Kira to need, the risk would be the same if we were here or else where. And as of late, he could kill us, soon to be formerly working on the case, to kill us to ensure that no information is leaked. _We_ should at least have a say about where _we_ want to risk our lives."

"You're right, Demetra. Please choose soon, then."

I was the first to answer. "Well, I'm staying, no matter the circumstances. I shall no longer be a police officer from now and for the rest of the investigation."

"Then, Demetra, you will understand that if you plan to stay, you will live in this building and still be monitored, as you are suspected of helping Kira."

Aizawa raised his voice, "But Demetra, if you quit, you'd be unemployed!" he turned to Soichiro. "And you, too, Chief!"

"Then, Aizawa, we would look for jobs when this is all done." Aizawa turned back to me, looking at me as if he had just swallowed a snail. Mastuda showed the opposite reaction, his features bounced with excitement. "Then I will go job-hunting, too! Besides, I currently have the job of being Misa-Misa's manager! If I were to help here, why would I go back—"

"Shut up, Matsuda," Aizawa commanded. He bargained with Ryuuzaki. "What about being an officer and cooperating in my free time?"

"No. If you choose to be part of the police force, do not bother to come back."

"I'd never leak any information—"

"It would not be given to you."

Aizawa froze in a stance of confusion, his eyes wide and his hands shaky. He muttered the choices to himself, though Soichiro and Matsuda responded and encouraged him to be an officer to help his family, though Aizawa didn't want encouragement to go back to his job. I said nothing, for I knew how much he wanted to work on the investigation, but it was also wrong to abandon a family.

Then, Watari's voice chimed in, "Ryuuzaki, why haven't you told them that in any case of need, such as getting fired form the police force, you would provide them with enough for life?"

"Oh, hear that, Aizawa?" Matsuda shrieked happily.

Aizawa screamed that he hated Ryuuzaki and all his schemes, and stormed off.

"It seems that the rest of you are here to stay. You were quicker to judge, and let's hope you won't quickly change your mind, either."

Soichiro was about to say something in defense to the minor insult, but I pretended not to notice, and spoke first. "Ryuuzaki," I stopped, wondering if it was too late to kick myself. It was. "If I am to stay here, may my friend, Mika, move in, as well? She has no other place to go at the moment."

He plucked a strawberry from a plate. "Yes, she may stay, too, but is not allowed any access to information of the investigation."

I tried to hide the smile that took over my face. "Thank you, Ryuuzaki."

"Of course, Demetra,"

**Ah, and before I forget, if you see any mistakes, please let me know. I've said this on my profile, and I'll say it here: My computer is acting funny; I want you to tell me if you see any mistakes, even if you think it's a typo, please tell me. Thank you! Please R&R! Thanks, again!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own Death Note...I own Demetra, Adelle, Mika, Kyle, Marie (Demetra's mother), Demetra's father, the concept of this, the plot, and this story. Don't steal.**

"Hey, Mika!" I called, closing the door to my apartment. Mika came running and gave me a deadly hug. Apperently she noticed my absense.

"I! Missed! You! Where were you? You left me!" she snuggled into me even tighter. I tried to push her away, but that only seemed to bring us closer, and I felt tears soaking through my shirt.

"Look, Mika, I have some important stuff to tell you. You better listen."

She let go reluctantly. "Oh? Then tell me..."

"Let's go sit on the couch,"

"Sure,"

She hopped to the living rom area and depressedly plopped on a cushion as I quietly seated myself on the cushion next to her. "So, Dem, what's up?"

"Well, at work..." I crinkled my nose in dissapointment.

"Yeah?"

"At work...you know I'm an officer, right?"

She nodded hesitantly.

"Well...I'm not an officer anymore...now, I'm more of a...a detective, you could say."

"Really? Sweet! That's so cool! Detectives are the really smart people on T.V that figure out crimes and stuff, right?" Her sadness lifted slightly.

"Yeah...but, Mika--"

"Hmm?" She sunk her head to her chest.

"I'm gonna haffta live at the building I work at."

Her face fell from an even more pathetic position than it was already locked at. "Why?"

"Because...it's complicated..."

"Well, I"ll try to unserstand. Use small words and pronounce them sl-ow-ly." She enouraged me with an innocent, weak smile.

I tried to smile back. "Well, before detectives can know for sure who committed a crime, they have suspects."

"I know,"

"And, well, those suspects are sometimes taken into a place just so they can be studied. You know, to see if the suspect really had what it takes to do it, like steal, or..." I tried to avoid the word 'kill'. "Or whatever."

"Really? That's neat. I don't remember watching an episode of _CSI _like that, before."

"T.V is different that real life. And real life is more complicated than anything in entertaniment. You see, Mika, I'm a suspect."

She laughed sourly in my face. "You've GOT to be kidding me! OK, sure, you gotta live at your job-place, and you wanna tell me that I'm gonna be left behind, but you _don't _wanna tell me, right?"

I eagerly shook my head, but she ignored me. "Look, Dem, if I need you, I'll call you, or something. I can call your job and demand your presnese if something goes horribly wrong."

I knew she was fibbing because I knew she could never have gotten their number. I also knew that _she_ knew that my cellphone was just about as realiable as bet on a dead cow to win a marathon.

I continued to shake my head. "No, Mika, you don't understand. I'm suspected of helping Kira."

Her confidence in herslef seemed crushed. "What?" She looked pained. "Why would they suspect you? What could you, of all people, do to convince some wise-guy to think you kill people?"

I shrugged. "It's complicated..."

"Who suspects you?"

"Um...the leader of the investigation."

"Well, introduce me."

"Why?"

"WHAT? He suspects you of helping Kira! You aren't even capable of doing something like that! I wanna met this guy so I can rip his balls off and stuff 'em down his throat!"

My head was forming circles and my brows twitched. She was an emotional wreck, but it was unthought of that someone would talk about L that way. Everyone in the workforce had a quiet respect for L. If only she knew L...

I had to laugh. Her enthusiasm for violence and action against anyone in order to protect me was humerous. What could a little girl like her do, anyway? My laughing fit grew to the point that I was gasping for breath in the middle of giggles. She didn't like being called 'little girl,' which made it all the more entertaining.

She joined my stupid merriment, and we bonked heads several times as we leaned over, grasping our stomachs, our faces cherry-red.

Her laughter ceased, but mine only lightened slightly. Then I snorted. I stopped and covered my mouth and nose with my hands. The silly, girly, chuckling frenzy started again. We snortled to the point that we thought we would actually die laughing.

Eventually, we forced our happy-horse crap aside, and I continued with my point. "Mika, since I'm suspected of helping Kira, I haffta live there. Since you live with me now, and don't have anywhere else to go, you're gonna live with me."

Her eyes went wide and she stood up in shock. "WHAT? I CAN LIVE WITH YOU? THAT'S AWESOME! We'll be roomies! We'll stay up alllll night and be like we used to be!" She spun in dumb circles with joy as she spoke. She seemed to get dizzy, stumbled across the room, then crashed back on the couch as if she were a drunk.

I tried to conceal my smile at her immaturity, but did a lousy job.

She smiled for a moment, then it faded. "Was that where you were all this time? That dude captured you to study you and see if you were criminal material? What a bast--"

"Mika! Come on, if you thought I killed someone, would you make sure it was really me that did it, or would you just throw me in jail automatically, or would you just let me go?"

She stroked her chin with her pointer finger and thumb. "Hmmm...depends who you were suspected of killing..."She flashed a smile my way.

My face brightened. "I guess you're right. If you suspected me of killing your old highschool teacher, Mr. Greenne, what would do?"

"I would thank you!"

"But what would be the right thing to do?"

"Oh...to let you go _and_ thank you! I hated him! He was soooo mean to me!"

He covered my mouth as I giggled.

She tilted her head. "So, when are we gonna pack?"

"Soon enough."

**Yeah...I'd appreciate it if you R&R.....thanks......**


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own Death Note...I only own Demetra, Adelle, and Marie, Amayia, and the father, and Mika (who will be here in later chapters) the concept of this, and the plot.**

Days have gone by, and I felt asleep through the week. I didn't feel alive, I didn't feel dead, I didn't feel anything. I was just going through the motions of living, and Mika picked up on it. Even when the team discovered the use of the Death Note and discovered there were two, I tried to force smiles at her, to convince her it didn't bother me, that I was all for it... she could tell.

I was down, I was depressed, I was worried. Every second seemed to bring L closer to pointing his long index finger at me, appointing his black eyes to mine, spitting at me undeniable accusations of not really helping the group, of knowing something the rest didn't, pushing the accusation closer to a false, sensible solution.

The only time I could cut myself was when I left the building because I had decided to know where the cameras and wire taps would be before I officially lived there. I would usually go out during the night time and walk a long distance until I found a park that had a large group of trees. I would make myself comfortable in the fort of leaves and branches, and do my duties thither.

Mika never caught on to the park, but I knew L did. I bet that whenever he watched the screen revealing me escaping his little cage that he either already had wire taps on my clothes or sent someone to follow me. However, I never sensed anyone following me, and even if someone did, they couldn't possibly have seen me through the thick brush and trunks. They may wonder why, and would most likely assume that I had a was writing in a Death Note, but couldn't do anything until they confronted me about it and found proof. Like they were going to get any.

One night in particular, if someone was following me, I would have been most paranoid—Adelle was there, and she had depressing news. At first, I was surrounded by plant life, dragging the small blade of my pocket knife across my feet. I cut my feet most of the time because I usually wore shoes or socks, so it was the easiest area to cover up.

I was cutting myself because I wanted to know why Kyle wanted Mika in his life to such an odd level. Marriage? Family friend? That didn't make sense in my mind. Sure, if this were a hundred or so years ago, I could understand, but This is the 2000's, not the 1800's. Differences have occurred. Views on marriage have changed. How people meet, depart, and fall in love have changed. Though human nature hasn't changed, everything else has; technology and surroundings evolve, but people still fall in love, still get married, still have children, still live, still die...

As I winced at the unwlecomed, self-inflicted pangs of the sharp edge, I felt dizzy, and I realized what Kyle was up to. I saw visions of Kyle yelling at Mika and her parents. Mika being stuffed into the backseat of a car. Mika crying whenever she realizes it's Kyle on the phone or at the door.

_Kyle isn't a nice guy._

_He's a criminal._

_An criminal not yet convicted; not yet found, wanted for theft._

_He's wanted for the robbery of millions of dollars from around the world, but mostly in North America._

_He used this money to buy all his cars, mansions, weapons, and Mika._

_Mika and her family were threatened by Kyle with one of those weapons. _

_Mika now fears for her life and innocence as well as her family's._

The images were very clear and crisp, much more than I liked. I supposed I felt worse and more distressed because Mika was my friend. Small tears wrapped themselves round the corners of my eyes. I wiped them quickly away with my sleeve and ignored the lump in my throat.

Just as I was developing a plan to control myself around Mika, Kyle, and the investigation team, a musical voice flowed from the space behind me.

"It took you long enough,"

I sobbed. "Poor Mika!"

"Yeah, poor Mika. Anyway, I have some news for you. Ready?"

I scoffed.

"You won't like it. You know how far away your birthday is from now, eh?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, I want you to die before you're twenty four."

One: That's the worst pile of crap anyone has stuffed in my ear.

"Oh, really? You want me to die, _BAM,_ like that? That's stupid. Why?"

"I don't want you to get too old or bored of this. I already am."

Two: That's frigging garbage.

"So soon? Why do you want me to die so soon?"

"Aw, you sound as if you belong with other humans in normal upbringings. How adorable. The desire to survive is swelling within you. Very cute, Demetra."

"No. I want to know_ why_."

"Ah, well, the sooner you die, the sooner you can help me."

I knew what that meant. "Um...what does that mean? Help you...?"

"Demetra, you know. I want you to be _by_ my side, _on_ my side, as a _goddess_."

"You mean...I'm not going to be just some creepy little helper? I'm going to be a full-blown _goddess?_"

The word, normally looked upon with awe and admiration, was a mere accusation and term for damnation on my part. "You want me to be immortal?"

"Yes, I do, dearie."

"Why?"

"I want someone to carry along the wonderful heir of control and chaos in the human world. Everyone else is dead, dearie. You're the only one left."

"But you're immortal! You don't need me to be your little apprentice!"

"No, but no one except for those who have been cursed by it, since those who are blessed are usually ungrateful or ignorant, can comprehend it."

I sighed, disappointed with her words. "I know,"

She nodded. "I know you know! Isn't this great?"

I shoved the pocket knife back in my skirt, "No! It's frigging awful! You're in your own la-dee-da world where everything suits your needs and everyone bows down at your feet willingly!Oh, yeah, and you get a flipping modern-day indentured servant—me—to boot! Yeah, your having a pretty sweet time, I'd say! But not_ everything_ revolves around you!--"

"No? I thought it did."

"No! I live my_ own_ life, I have my _own_ thoughts, feelings, and needs! I _don't_ revolve around you, I _can't_ revolve around you! _I_--"

She shook her head. "Dearie, don't deny what you you know darn well is true._ I_ am your life, _I_ am what your world revolves around, _I _am your goddess. Face the facts, don't lie to yourself."

I refused to look at her.

"Dearie, you're usually so mature about these things. I suppose it's just a reaction from your discovery of your friends fate..."

"Mika! Ohmigawsh, Mika! What's gonna happen to her? To him?" I shook form depression and rage. "But I'm not helpless! He's gonna pay!"

She chuckled dryly. "I like the sound of that. It's about time you fulfilled a threat."

I growled. "I never claimed I would kill him. Just give him what he deserves."

"Death."

"No. Worse."

She smiled broadly. "You learn slowly; you're stubborn, but, hey, you do learn it, I admit."

I stood, my body forcing some branches to snap. "I'm not listening to you anymore. I'm leaving."

"You're leaving the brush, not me, sweetie."

"Whatever that gets you to stop talking to me for at least five minutes so I can regain my sanity."

"Don't you have to have sanity at all in order to regain it? You didn't lose it, dearie, you were neglected of it!"

I jogged back to the building, and I caught no one following me. As I got to the busier part of the city, I felt both safer and more paranoid; more people, less chance of a spy to see me. More people, more people to see some random woman run down the sidewalk to a freakishly tall building that the public is not allowed into.

As I just approached the door, I could have sworn that someone was behind me, so, I did the instinctual thing—I swiftly turned—but no one was there...no one I saw. I even heard the _bwoof_ of a body slamming agisnt a wall, retreating, but when I followed the sound, I didn't hear anything following it and I didn't see anything. I shrugged. Adelle was obviously getting the best of me, creeping into—jumping into—my 'normal' life under the monitoring of L.

**Ah, a sweet update at last...I liked this one....be prepared for the next one...**

**Please R&R.....**

**Actually, I'd like to thank all my reviewers. You guys really do get your point across, and I really do heed what you say. Your reviews mean a lot...thanks for the encouragement.**


	9. Chapter 9

Every second brought me closer to being found out…every second brought me closer to death. I've realized that Adelle was hinting to me many things the other night. She reminded me of my birthday, November first...isn't it ironic? November first is All Saints Day, the holy day after the celebration of harvesting and darkness, All Hallows' Eve, Halloween.

And I'm such a fan of irony, too. I turn twenty-four on November first this year, and Adelle advised me to die before then. There's a very good chance of that. One, I've figured that if Light—how he knew, I still am learning, how important the cutting was—gave any more hints that he and I had something in common, something like gods and goddesses, then I would be just _that much _closer to death. If anything suspicious about me is discovered, I'd have to die. Kill myself, somehow. And when I die, I'd be a goddess, a wonderful sidekick of Adelle's. Wonderful.

I simply wanted to run away and take Mika with me, hiding ourselves form the rest of the Kira-crazed world. I wanted that. So bad.

At my laptop, after a few hours, I saw Light abruptly stand and leave the room, entering the hallway. I turned to see him exit, and he had the wackiest look on his face, an omen of danger and insanity released to the world by his decisions, choices, and discipline of will. A shudder went through me as I thought of such a future, so after about ten minutes passed, I followed him out, acting as if I just had to stretch my legs.

Light stood proudly, waiting for me to come and get him. His back was straight, leaning on a wall, his face twisted, arms crossed over his chest, quietly and obnoxiously mocking me. "It's nice to see you, Demetra-san. Took you long enough?"

I walked closer to him. So close, I could feel his subtle chuckles airing my face. "Too long. I'd like to know a few things from you, Light..."

"Oh, Demetra, don't go thinking I'm Kira,"

"I'm not thinking you are, I _know_. With this, I'd like to know some other things."

"Ah, so you're not all-knowing? Like a goddess?"

I slapped him. Right across the face. Hard. An immediate, instinctual, reaction type of thing. I didn't regret it, I just hoped no one heard it. His one eye on the side that I slapped was watering, but his smile grew. I smirked right back, matching his tone of sarcasm. "Tell me, _Light-kun_?"

He nodded, rubbing his cheek, grinning like a villain. "Anything for you, Demetra. Yes, I do have some things to tell you. Some things were told to me by a little bird--"

"A little shinigami," I growled, crossing my arms, trying not to beat him to the ground.

His eyes brightened, his mouth twitched. "Yes, a shinigami. Very good, Demetra, but I figured you would know about that. I didn't think you would have to prove how high and mighty you were by correcting me." He tilted his head arrogantly, beckoning me to do my worst. I mimicked his action. "Go on, Light-kun, I'm listening."

He shook his head. "I know you are,_ Demetra_. But don't interrupt me. A little birdie told me that you had some special powers; they outwardly told me that you were...a goddess. So what's a shinigami...a goddess doing here?"

"I am not a shinigami--"

"I corrected myself--"

"Don't act childish, Light-kun, and listen to me as I listen to you. I am not a shingami, I am not a goddess." I placed my hands on my hips.

"I do not listen to lies."

I twitted. "Except your own,"

"I suppose I'm the exception to all things, don't you think?" He shifted an inch away from the wall, standing without the assistance of a wall.

"I am not a goddess," I repeated.

He frowned, his eyes sparkling with devilry. "Ah, I see. Then what are you?"

"Just go on with your story and I'll correct anything that you have twisted for me."

He laughed mischievously, softly. "Well, a shinigami told me—he also said you knew him, so I'll say his name, Ryuk—that you were a goddess and that I should watch myself around you." He inspected me, his eyes traveling slowly up down my figure. "But I don't see any reason to fear you."

"I have other things to care about than to be feared by you. I do not fear you, so we have a mutual relationship, eh?"

He laughed, throwing acerbity at me. "Yes, a mutual companionship we have. We haven't killed each other, either."

"Yet,"

His laughter was reborn. "Yet... yes, you are very precise when it comes to it, aren't you? Well, Ryuk told me to be careful around you, that you have a power unidentifiable to anyone, even me. He said, eventually, it could be tangible, perhaps, if you wanted it to be. Or Adelle..."

"Oh? And who is Adelle?"

"Don't play dumb--" Aggravated, he bit his lower lip.

"I'm not playing dumb. Who's Adelle?" I wasn't saying _I_ didn't know who Adelle was; I was asking if _he_ knew who Adelle was.

He grumbled, dropping his arms to his sides. "A powerful goddess,"

"Ever meet her?"

He shook his head grudgingly, eyeing me.

"She's a real dear. Don't meet her. Anything I should know about you?" My mind boggled at what would happen if Adelle was at the side of Light. What they could do...what would happen...oh, _what a world_ the world would become, _what a world_.

"Ah, Demetra, you see, _I have a shinigami._ _I'm Kira. I have a Death Note. _Did my telling you of a shinigami not faze you when I told you a minute ago?"

"No, I know you're Kira,"

He chuckled darkly. _"I know,"_

"Anything else?" I tapped my foot on the ground, growing impatient of his stupid digressions.

"Hmmm," He licked his lips, placed his hand delicately at his chin, shoved the other in his pocket, and stared at the ceiling, pretending he was in deep thought. "_Yes.._.I do believe that _we should be partners in this."_

I was afraid of that. "Explain."

He growled in the back of his throat, it sounded remotely like an amused chortle. "Well, if we both know everything there is about each other, we would make excellent allies."

"Or excellent enemies." I tapped my cheek with my index finger, plainly fed up with his narcissism.

"Why be enemies when we could be powerful together?" His eyes widened as he leaned even closer to me for emphasis.

"It would be a very entertaining way to pass time, don't you think? Trying to protect ourselves and expose the other, or, perhaps, not bothering to reveal either one of us, knowing that our situations intertwine slightly, but slightly enough to make a certain genius twitch and conclude some things." I didn't back down, not stepping back, I just stared angrily into his eyes, not caring how awkward or freaky it was to have our faces so close together.

He sighed dramatically. "Why do you have to make things so _difficult_, Demetra? Let us be allies, let us be friends. I'll help you, you'll help me. We'll get along fine, helping ourselves protect the other."

I shook my head. "No, Light, I'm just not interested."

"Hmm," his rubbed the back of his neck, mulling my hard-headedness. "Well, you would not make a sufficient ally, anyway. You have lacked to tell me a lot about yourself."

"Sure, sure, you knew everything already,"

"No, I didn't. I'd like to know if there was anything in my story that sounded twisted to you; after all, you were the main part of it." He smiled crookedly, like he was admiring the very sound of his voice.

"Ah, well, you've twisted enough to make me want to choke you, but stayed honest enough to make the urge to choke you stronger."

He cocked an eyebrow, stuffing his free hand in his pocket. "Oh? So we are better enemies than friends?"

I shoved both my hands in my pockets, mimicking him, just trying to piss him off. It was a subtle irritation, of course, but I wanted to see if anything could break this kid. "That's exactly what I'm saying, Light. I'm glad you can see my point of view."

"Oh, but I don't I still don't think I know all that I need to know about you." He leaned back on the wall, waiting for me to answer.

"You don't need to now. You're smart, as we are rivals, I'm sure you can figure it out." I leaned closer, satiric encouragement pouring from my voice.

He closed his eyes and shrugged. "The offer of being on my side is still for the taking."

My face twisted, hating what crap flowed out of his mouth, hating the rogue he was. I leaned back, preparing myself for returning to the room where everyone else was working. "I'll keep that in mind,"

"There's gonna be a time when you need me,"

"And I'll be sure to ask for your help as an ally when I need it." I turned from him, and opened the door to the other room, hoping I didn't spend a questionable amount of time out of the room, hoping no one would notice my reproach, or even my earlier departure.

Everyone's eyes tore from whatever they were doing and focused on me, though I pretended not to notice and kept my eyes on my laptop. As I sat, they returned to what they were previously engaged in, and then Light walked in. Same thing happened, except when he sat next to L, everyone's eyes shifted from him to me. I kept staring at my laptop, trying to ignore them, but it was hard to ignore them with their thoughts of suspicion, mistrust, and betrayal screaming at me.

Preparing dinner for Mika and me, I didn't make any unnecessary conversation. I greeted her as I walked through the door, but I didn't do the whole spiel,like asking how her day was and telling her about mine. However, after dinner, I planned to tell her what I knew about Kyle. I would use vague words so the team wouldn't know what I was talking about because I didn't want anyone to know; they would question how I know, why didn't I tell them myself instead of flipping off as I was watched, etcetera. I wanted to handle him myself.

After a wordless dinner—thought not completely wordless, Mika tried to talk to me, but ended up babbling more to herself than it actually being a conversation between us—I plopped on the couch and pretended to watch TV. There was an identical beige, velvety couch opposite of the couch I sat on that Mika occupied. She was really into the show, some crappy soap opera, even mesmerized by the cheap commercials with low-paid, no-name actors.

After her show and commercials ran their course on the TV, I turned the volume down and as calmly and casually as possible, brought up the conversation. "Mika, you know you're my friend, right, and I'm your friend, and we only do stuff that the other may not agree with only because we care, right?"

She was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the couch, arms crossed, and nodded eagerly. "Yup. That's right, Dem."

I shifted so I could face her, my feet planted on the floor and my back was slouched and my elbows leaned on my knees, my hand holding the other. "Well, Mika, I…got to know Kyle better."

Her green eyes widened at first, but then she tried to calm herself. Her voice was shaky, and she cracked on the last word. "Oh? Um, that's good…has he been talkin' to you?"

It may not have been a major thing, but I noticed that she said _has he been talkin' to you,_ instead of asking _have you been talkin' to him._ She subconsciously gave him more power and more of a narrative in her life that she gave herself and mine; something small to catch, something important to remember.

"Er, yes, I have been talking to him. I, ugh…saw him…the other day…" I didn't lie. I saw him in a vision. I didn't think I would have the heart to look her in the eye and spit lies at her, even if it was for the good of her, and perhaps the both of us.

Actually, I think I would lie to her in a situation like that. It would be good practice for all the other lies I'd have to tell when I die and become immortal. I'd have to lie all around just to get anywhere or do anything.

"Oh…well, he didn't tell me about it…and neither did you…" She shifted, her arms holding her knees to chest. Pathetic…she was sitting up almost in a fetal position…

I glared at her, not moving. I didn't plan to keep lying her forever, but maybe I would have to, and maybe she should have gotten my drift by now instead of ignoring it. "Mika, I know about him."

She rose, and I copied her action. There was a square coffee table between us, and she just stared at me, like that up-to-the-knee table was the strongest restraint she could face. I wondered what she would do without that restraint…

She walked around it, standing at the side of it, where there was plenty of room between the table and the start of the kitchen counter. There could probably have enough room for about four average sized people in the gap, and for some reason, that made me feel better that neither of us would be cornered.

As I opened my mouth to further explain as vaguely as I could, she punched me right in the eye. I was standing how I normally stood; my feet together and my back very straight. So when she punched me, it had more impact than when I would be at a fighting stance. I refused to move my feet or back away, so my torso twisted dramatically. As my back rung itself from the blow, I noted that my back cracked in a couple places—and it _hurt_.

My back snapped back into its normal position, and that was when I finally felt the pain of my eye. Dang it, I could practically feel the shiner forming on my face! Out of anger, I punched her in the throat next. I didn't want to hurt her, I just wanted to hit her. I held back a great deal, too, for a hit to the throat is emphasized because there's no protection there.

She made some choking sounds, and I wondered if, out of rage, I accidently hit her harder than I meant too. Oh well. Even though I didn't want to hurt her, she deserved it. She should have been prepared to get what she gave. As they say, an eye for an eye, a hit for a hit.

She lowered herself to her knees, gasping for air. "Just…give me your all…you…barely tried…"

I crossed my arms, attempting to be as smug as I could, just to let her know I could do anything standing up with her on the ground, but simply chose not to. I didn't want to frighten her, I just wanted her to stay put so I could defend my story. "I know,"

"Then…just hit me…hard as ya can…do it…" She gasped without rhythm and struggled to keep her breathing even.

"I don't feel like it. I'll tell you something else, too, Mika." I paused, making sure she was still listening. "I know the truth with you and him. I know why you didn't tell—"

"So why'd you do this to me?!" She grasped her neck, but I knew she wasn't talking about punching her; she was referring to the fact that I found out.

"I found out so I could help you." I uncrossed my arms and offered my hand to her. She stared at it for a while, then turned her head from me. "It you really wanted to help, you would have kept out. You wouldn't have told the cops."

Mika, stupid fool, why did she have to blow my cover? _Our_ cover? I was no longer a cop, but why complicate things with the mention of them? Shouldn't I have known that if she didn't know about being under surveillance, she would have said something? Poor, oblivious Mika!

"I wouldn't." My hand lingered in front of her face.

"You didn't?" She took my hand and I pulled her up.

"No, of course not. I'm not stupid." I frowned. Thanks to Mika, I proved myself wrong.

She didn't notice. She hugged my tightly. "Thanks, that means a lot."

I didn't return the embrace. I never liked it when she went overboard with the love and affection thing. I made sure I wasn't completely blowing her off, but enough that would hint that Care-Bear-ism is not my thing. I patted her shoulder, feeling awkward and out of place that she wouldn't let go. I patted her upper back, taking a step back away. She didn't notice how uncomfortable I was, which was both a good and bad thing. Good because I didn't make her cry or something by hurting her feelings. Bad because she would probably never get that I don't do mad amounts of hugs and casual touching. Not my thing. I'm not afraid of being touched or whatever, but it's just not my thing. I don't know how else to describe it; I don't like being hugged in overwhelming portions, or have someone lean on me, or I them…I don't really think it has anything to do with my family's death either. I'm not really a creepy introvert, I just don't like being touched and hugged every moment of the day. I've hugged people before, I've touched other people before, I have no problem with it, but I think it's teenagers…I think they, as a general rule nowadays, just like to hug a lot. Seeing people hug that much is ridiculous, and I don't even like watching people hugging overbearingly and needlessly. Perhaps my reasoning doesn't make sense, but it feels right it my head; I don't think it makes sense to hug someone every time you see them or something happy happens.

She stepped back from me, gazing seriously yet joyfully into my eyes. "You're such a good friend. I know you know you are—but have we ever just plain said it to the other?—you're always there for me; you're like a big sister, but big sisters get annoying, don't they? Well, I never find you annoying, but I could probably guess how many times you find me annoying!" She picked her finger nails with her thumbs, creating a gentle _click, click-click_ noise as she talked. "So, you're like an angel, or somethin'. But angels…they only do the right thing, and I'm not always sure at what's right to do, but you always seem aware of what's right and wrong...but with the Kyle thing, I think if someone else knew, they would have told on me, but you didn't. I don't know which is right or wrong, but I know I don't want anyone else to know.

"So, you're not really an angel, 'cause angels are all holy and…they…take orders from a higher force, God. I'm Christian, so I love God, and I know you do, too, and I hope you won't take offense to this and that you see it the way I do." She inhaled, and so did I, shifting my weight from foot to foot.

"It's almost as if you don't obey a higher force. I'm not talkin' a godly or holy force, I'm just talkin' 'bout a force greater than you, like a boss or somethin'. Like, you don't take orders from anyone, you just do what you see fit…so, you're a goddess, sorta, in my eyes."

Why did Mika have to be _so_ stupid, yet _so_ smart? It was like she was cursed to be intelligent enough to connect all the facts, but dumb enough to discharge them and categorize them as fiction, or opinion.

_Why?_

"Um…er…thanks…Mika…I think…" I backed up a half a step and pretended to act puzzled by her accusation. I furrowed my brows and looked curiously but friendlily at her direction and forced a teeny smile as I folded my hands behind my back.

She grinned goofily trustingly back at me. It made my stomach twist with shame for flaunting a false exterior to my closet friend. "Aw, it's OK, Dem, I know I'm weird, but that's just what I think."

But did she _have_ to look at me so adoringly? My cheeks felt hot. "Well, Mika, do you think it's…healthy…to look at me with such high standards?"

Her smile faded, but I could tell she still felt optimistic and faithful with me. "Well, why not? You're a good enough person for the job." She winked at me and placed her hands on her hips. "Hey, if the shoe fits, right? I think you fit just fine."

I only fit because I had so many sneaky ways of squeezing and shifting to that mold of Mika's fragile vision of perfection. Why did I not stop stabbing myself and her in the back?

"Um, Mika, I don't think it's a Christian thing to do to put someone on such a high pedestal." The muscles in my forehead twitched.

_Oh, I wish you could hear me, Mika! Just stop talking, stop idolizing me! It's sick of you, and even sicker for me…_

Mika froze. "Did you say somethin'?"

I became immobilized, mirroring her motionless state exactly. "No,"

_Oh, crap, oh, crap, if I really want someone to hear me, that crap that Adelle threw at me about communicating by thought is kicking into action! Oh, no, oh, no, Mika, Mika, don't freak out!_

Mika shrieked, and I couldn't blame her…or stop her. She fled to the couch and covered her ears. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!"

_Oh, goodness, I got to stop thinking…impossible…I got to find out how to get her to stop listening…or hearing…_

I waited a few minutes after I was done screaming at myself in my head. I then tried a way to filter my thoughts. _I don't want Mika to hear me. I don't want her to cry._

Against my will, Mika had tears racing down her cheeks.

"Is everything quiet, now?" I asked solemnly, not questioning her sanity in the least.

She nodded. "I…I don't know what happened…I heard your voice, but your lips weren't movin'…"

"Everything must be stressing you out. You're exhausted, you should get some rest." I neared her, gave her my hand and helped her gain independence from the softness of the furniture. I led her to her bed and as I closed the door, she, tucked comfortably in bed, whispered, "What would I do without ya, Dem?"

I closed the door, a lump swelling in my throat, guilt and seclusion weighing down my chest. I didn't want her to hear me think. _You wouldn't be here, you would be sane._

**_Ah...forgive the wait...I hope it was worth it...I adore you all._**


	10. Chapter 10

I soon learned how to control my thoughts, how to keep them private and public. Sure, it took a bit of practice around the team, but I disciplined myself eventually. After a while, sharing and keeping thoughts became as natural and instinctual as a normal thinking pattern, and I didn't need to concentrate at all if I wanted someone to hear me or not. It just became easy, natural.

As soon as I walked into the room filled with laptops, large screens, and ex-cops, everyone's attention was on me. What did I do now?

"Demetra," L started, seated in his usual slouched, crouched stance. "I have a job for you. It's very important."

I nodded. I felt strangely bitter; I had a feeling that this wasn't really a mission to help the team, but to help myself be pushed into a corner.

"You are aware of Misa Amane being suspected of being the second Kira. For a while, a great while, as you know, she has been acting ignorant to this accusation. Though she no longer lives with us in our headquarters, it is wise to keep caution—" he plucked a cookie from a plate near him and talked with his mouth filled with the doughy sweet. "And girls will be girls, eh?"

_Um, what?_

"Could you further explain, Ryuuzaki?" I stepped forward, my hands at my sides, not wanting to seem afraid or eager to flee out the door.

"I'd like you to get to know Misa Amane better. I'd like you to go with her and her friends today. Make them relax around you. See if she has any evidence for the motives we suspected her of having for being the second Kira. You're very smart, very adaptable, Demetra. I'm sure you can do it."

I tried to appear innocent enough, not like I felt any resentment, a feeling that tugged me away from liking this idea. I took in more detail from the room, and I saw Light, now no longer chained to L, in a chair, slightly in the back of the tiny crowd of Kira-hunters, as smug as a house cat that just ate a pit-bull. His eyes had a reddish tint, a wicked sparkle that made me want to punch his face in. Adelle was standing behind him, her hands on his shoulders. Surely, he knew of her presence, and welcomed her plans, wanting to corrupt, warp, change and kill me? Of course he did, I could feel it, feel the heat of a demented plan radiating from the sincerity of his tiny, evil smile.

"When would you like me to…start?" I asked, attempting to advert my attention from Light.

"It will be one day. Starting today, ending today. Misa may be wary if you keep coming back." He shifted, still facing me…just like everyone else.

"I see. Do you know of their—Misa and her friends'—location, now?"

"Yes. First, however, you should fit the part. This has to be casual, as if you're a part of them."

This guy must have had too much sugar.

"All…right. I'll…dress in fashionable wear for teens."

"Yes. Be ready before nine this morning. You may bring Mika, as well, to make things even more friendly."

Not sugar. The stuff he's on must be acid.

"You may get ready now, if you'd like, Demetra. This is your mission, to go out, so you have no obligation to stay here today. Take this." He handed me a small device. "It's a wire-tap. Put it under your clothes so we can here her answers."

"Right. I'll do my best. Thanks." I muttered, scooting away from the scene, feeling the gaze of everyone's hot eyes, especially Light's mocking, scornful glare…

I plodded up the stairs and down the halls of the building to my cozy apartment. Mika was in the living room, watching television. It looked like some other corny soap opera.

"Hey!" Her head bobbed in my direction, her eyes alit with joy, reminding me of a puppy.

"Hey," I replied tediously.

"Why are you back so soon?

I plonked on a seat cushion next to her. "We're going to do something interesting, today."

Her entire body lifted with the force of her authentic smile. "Really? What? Where?"

"Ever hear of Misa Amane?" I asked, crossing my legs, my shoulders leaning on the couch's arm.

"Um…no." She said, sitting on her knees, biting her lip, embarrassed.

"Well…I'll introduce you." I shifted, feeling inept while talking about social gatherings with people I don care about, and the next subject of conversation…clothes…

"But, she's in…a crowd, sort of. You know how models are. They wear fancy clothes and stuff. You know, like Gothic Lolita stuff, or whatever."

"Hey, we should deck you out with that stuff—and me, 'cause I'm cool, too—and we'll fit right in! C'mon!" She pulled my arm so I was forced to tag along to her bedroom. She threw open the door to her closet, and I saw a utopia of expensive-looking clothes. "Dang, Mika…I don't even think I have as many clothes altogether as you have that is _only_ Japanese-inspired. How could you afford all this? The elegant and cute clothes that Japan sells to women most of the time are very pricey." I tilted my head, still in a amazement that that many garments could even fit into her closet.

"Oh, yeah, Kyle bought me a lot of cool Japanese stuff since I wanted to come here and catcfh up with you." She glanced my way, a grateful smile on her face; she was thankful that she actually caught up with me in Japan.

"OK…let's get started."

"'Kay," She searched through her closet and threw pretty, lacey, _racy_ items of clothes at me.

Another piece of knowledge—not really a vision, like a voice, and it sounded like Adelle's. _He dresses her so prettily and exposed for himself._ She snickered. _For himself, his pleasure. But she hasn't yet. It makes him impatient._ She was amused at her—my—our—situation. She thought it was funny that some criminal-somewhat-of-a-mastermind perv wanted to doll up Mika, and that she would let me borrow some of said items and look like a sexy yet elegant, cutesy doll.

Mika ordered me to get changed first. I had trouble figuring out how to put on a petticoat and a violet corset-like top, but after a few minutes of choking myself and endangering the sight of my eyes, I managed.

How could I ruin my eyeballs with materials like lace, silk, ribbons, and cotton and nylon? Well, the sight of the garments on my frame made me want to shut my eyes and hope that I was in a sexuality-discovering nightmare. I had a corset underneath a sheer, black seventeenth-century-European-inspired blouse, which, under the corset, is where I stuck my pocket knife and the wire tap. My skirt was made of purple silk, ended just above my knees, and bunched at the hem. There was a petticoat under it which made it puff out. I had black fishnet stockings on and had very shiny black ballet flats that were probably half a size too small for my feet, but Mika insisted that I wear them since they were hardly worn by her. I was head-to-toe in purples and black.

I was never one to flaunt my body, so it was scary and foreign to put on these items. I guess I would just have to tough it out.

"Omigosh," Mika gushed. "You look a-dor-a-ble! You're so pretty! You look so thin, but not like creepy-skinny! Oh, and you're just so cute! You should dress like this every day! And every day, I would do your make-up and your hair…and it would be so much fun!"

A smile formed on my lips. "Don't get crazy, now. You didn't even do my hair yet. Besides, this little Demetra can't do pretty."

"Oh, of course you can! You're the prettiest, cutest thing I ever saw!...Omigosh, are you blushing?"

Unfortunately for me, I could feel my face become beet-red.

"Aw, that makes you look even cuter! That's so adorable! You were always so_ kawaii_ when you blushed, but I never wanted to tell you 'cause you always had this 'it's impossible for me to be cute' attitude! Well, drop it, missy, 'cause I'm not even gonna put blush on you 'cause you're red enough already!" She pushed me into the living room on the sofa.

"'Kay…close your eyes, and don't open 'em till I say."

I closed my eyes and heard her walk in and out of the room, fumbling with various materials—probably different make-up stuffs and hair crap. After a series of pulls and tugs of my hair and touching and rubbing on my eyes and lips, Mika grabbed my hands abruptly, forcing me up. She swayed me to what I guessed was her room, and she commanded that I open my eyes. I saw a stranger gawking back at me. "Whoa," was all I could muster.

"I know! Ain't it great? And all I did was put on some eyeliner and mascara and lip balm, lipstick, and gloss! You look so pretty! Ooh, and your hair!" She admiringly traced a lock of my hair, which was up. My hair was in two high pigtails in the back of my head, but after they were twisted like buns, there were still two streams of my black hair flowing past my shoulders. "It's so cute! Do it more often! Now, study yourself and admire my work, and I'll get changed!" She raced to the closet and then to her bathroom.

I gazed into the mirror for a minute or two, simply trying to convince myself that the foreign young woman in the mirror was actually me. After I succeeded, I just sat down on Mika's mattress until she came out.

She was adorned in basically the same thing as me, except she took quicker to dress and she was in pinks, blues, and whites. It was almost as if she wanted us both to look gorgeous, but also wanted me to out-shine her. She apparently did her hair and face in the bathroom, too, for her hair and make-up was just like mine, her eyes a heavy black from eyeliner and her lips purplish from lipstick and shiny from gloss. "Wow, Mika! You look amazing!" I exclaimed.

She shrugged. "Yeah, but you're a tiny bit older, so you look…beautiful."

I waved it off. "I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about you! You look great!"

She took out some sticks form under her bed and handed a black one to me, keeping a white one for her. "Thanks. Here's an umbrella. They're all the rage here."

"So I've seen."

"Yep,"

We jetted out the door and walked to the park. Right when we hit the park, my cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Demetra, it's Misa-Misa! My friends and I are at this café thingy near the park! Come and join us! We'll have such a good time!" Click.

"Hey, Mika," I started. "Misa just called and said they're at some café near here. Let's look for it."

"Sure. Kyle and I have eaten here frequently, so I might know the place. Did she name it?"

"No,"

"Oh…then let's look."

Eventually, after hunting for the eatery, we found a cozy café populated with teens and people in their twenties, and people in their thirties that pretended to be twenty. I spotted Misa as she waved for us.

"Hey!" She greeted, Mika and me taking our seats.

I nodded politely and Mika waved shyly.

"So, how've you been?" She leaned her scary-stick-thin elbow on the table, acting interested.

"Oh, not much," I fibbed. "You know, same old, same old. Oh, and this is my friend, Mika. Mika, this is Misa…and her friends." I shifted my eyes form girl to girl. There were three girls plus Misa, and they looked like triplets with Misa being the dominant older, glory-seeking sibling, all dressed like Mika and me, except in black silks and laces.

They waved too-eagerly in return, false smiles plastered, their cheek bones squishing the hallows of their cheeks into sharp bumps on the sides of their faces below their eyes.

"It _can't_ be same old, same old." Replied Misa. "I mean, with Kira and all. Besides, how is that, anyway?"

I paused. "Oh, well, we're getting closer, but as we get closer, we seem to get farther away, as well."

She froze. "I see." Then, a waiter came by and gave us all short cake with strawberries on top. "Oh, and I ordered and paid for you two. That OK? They have the best cakes in the world!" She nibbled on the dessert, and then placed her fork down. "Well, is there anything you can tell me about the Kira investigation?"

L wanted this to be casual. Ha! But I wondered what was going through Misa's head that all she could ask me about was Kira, Kira, Kira. I knew she loved Light and admired Kira for killing the guy that murdered her parents, but still.

_Well, if you're so curious, why don't you ask her? Get in her head!_ Adelle's voice entered my cranium. _Just get into what she's thinking. It's like talking to her, but not responding or starting any noise, unless you want to. It's like going into a conversation, acting like you have something to say, but are really just bluffing and you just want to eavesdrop. Like what I do with you. _

I mentally jolted._ Is that why, in the headquarters the other day I could hear their thoughts? I remember I could hear _their thoughts of suspicion, mistrust, and betrayal screaming at me. _Right?_

I could hear her voice sneer. _Yes. You actually couldn't always do this, I just let you that one time…give you a taste—_

_Shut up!_

Her voice faded and vanished.

I really didn't have a refuge, not even in my own, not-so-personal thoughts. I thought about giving that eavesdropping thing a try.

Misa's thoughts flooded my head. _This is a bit more difficult than I imagined, but I'll stick with it. L ordered me to get information from Demetra because he suspects her of being controlled like Light-kun and I were._

_However, I refused because I had no need, besides, he used guards or something to tell me, and they said that it was from L. _

_Then, Light-kun told me to do it, and I embraced the task with open arms. He told me to think of it this way, if Demetra is working for Kira, she'll bring me closer to Kira and him! I couldn't ask for more! Especially since I know Light and Kira are the same, it makes me so happy! Light and I will live happily while Demetra does our dirty work!_

She thought I was a servant. Gee, thanks, Light, that really encouraged me to team up with you. It was also pleasing to know that L was behind this. He fooled us both into thinking we were investigating each other, when really, he as making a sap out of both of us to get information from both sides. Smart L, sneaky L…

Well, I suspected it when he told me he had a job for me, I just didn't know how exactly it would happen. But it did. And I'm a little surprised. Good for him, that L, always being unpredictable and keeping me form being bored. I'll repay him later, if I'm able to properly express my gratitude. Yeah, I could swipe his candy and kick his back until it's straight. That sounded like a plan…

I took a couple bites out of my cake and after I swallowed, I asked, "Well, Misa, if you're so interested, have you found anything yourself?"

She looked like as if I had jumped out of a bush and screamed "Freddy Krueger's gonna get you!" She paled, and her voice seemed stuck in the same stutter. I cast my eyes upon her mates and they looked at my plate, of all things. They looked as if I were insane to consume the amount of the food that I did. I only ate half of it, and it was a small slice to begin with, so I stole some looks at their plates, and found that they each took a small timid bite and then abandoned it. They gave the same look to Mika, who I saw gobbled her whole slice. It was probably needless to figure out how those twigs ate, but I was just occupying my time as Misa tried to find proper words—actually, any words could have benefited her.

However, she finally discovered the ability to produce speech. "Well, no, I haven't, I thought that was your job and the team's responsibility."

I wished she'd kept quiet.

"Oh, well, look at the time!" Misa shouted with a hallow tone. "We'd better get going; we have our agents waiting for us to pose for pictures! Bye!" They stood simultaneously, then Misa turned before she exited the café. "Oh, and Dem, Mika, you both look great! Toodles!"

Bleh, toodles. What a dumb word.

"I hate those _bakas._" Mika solemnly declared.

"Me, too. Let's look forward to a hopefully long time of never running into them again." I said, getting up from the seat.

"Yeah. I think they're anorexic, or something. They barely touched their food! And that cake was amazing! How could they stand to just leave it there, and why did you have the urge to introduce me to those bimbos, anyway?" She followed my action, standing, as well.  
I laughed. "Yeah, but maybe they got the jitters for their shoot. Besides, they're smarter than they look." I didn't believe the words myself, but I liked to think beyond what my dread of them swayed me to assume. However, Misa was fairly smart…just blinded by Light.

"Um, no. I really don't think so, Dem." She looked around the café. "This is boring. Let's go…somewhere else."

"Like where?" I asked her, walking to the door.

"I don't know…anywhere. Ooh! Like there!" She pointed to a store that sold jewellery.

"Think we could afford it?"

"Who said we were shopping? Just looking. Just killing time."

"Well, we could go anywhere…" I just really didn't want to go shopping, or just look around at stuff I couldn't even purchase. Anything. Just not shopping or gawking.

"Well, if you really don't want to, I'll go there, and you can…go do your thing. We'll meet back at our apartment thing in…two hours?" She already started inching her way to the store.

"Sure," I shrugged.

She bolted into the store without looking back at me. I shrugged again and walked toward the park. It started to pour, so I popped out the umbrella Mika gave me earlier. As the drops hit the brellie, I noticed that the material wasn't water repellent. It was lace and cotton. I realized that if I kept up the umbrella, water would eventually seep through and get me wet anyway, and end up smelling bad. I tucked the umbrella back into itself and went back to carrying it. I put my wrist through a loop at the handle of it and walked on.

Walking in the rain, people gave me strange looks. There were some that gave me sympathy through their eyes, and there were some who were actually checking me out, the sheer material wet, emphasizing the corset's presence. Those individuals really creeped me out. Were they so desperate for flesh that they would look at some soaked, random girl in high-quality clothes with interest? Sure, the garments were showy and pleasing to the eye, and made me pleasing to look at, but did they have to make it so obvious? Even though they were rushing past me, their eyes were just glued to me. Then again, how often did they see a woman in Lolita clothes, in the rain, with a useless umbrella, _not_ making a fuss or scene about it?

Arriving at the park, it was deserted. I walked deep into its center and espied someone sitting awkwardly on a bench. The rain made it difficult to see, so I couldn't make out the details of the person. It was the only bench that was in the middle, the rest of the benches were circling the park's edges. I wanted to get closer to the person, interested in why they were just sitting there in the rain, no umbrella or coat to protect them. I would just walk by, quickly memorize them, wave in a greeting, and exit the park. Feeling my hair style drop from the constant, heavy rain, I took my hair down, and it was wavy with spirals and had bounce and lift from being up and twisted.

As I neared the person, I discovered it was a young man, he was tall, thin, and I could even have considered him handsome or cute. He had charcoal, chin-length hair and he had his knees curled up into himself, like he was cold. I couldn't make anything else out , like the smaller, more defined features of his face because of the weather.

I didn't really want to look like, to the man, that I was rudely coming over to him and intruding his privacy, just randomly checking up on him when I didn't even know him. So, I found a tree that was in the between me and the stranger. I leaned against the tree and stared at the sky. I squinted slightly, not wanting the fat beads to get in my eyes. The sky was pretty. It was a grayish blue. The color made me calm and happy somehow. Thinking of the man, I couldn't help but wonder I saw him somewhere. His features were familiar, but there were probably a million people in Japan that had black hair, or hair dark enough that looked black when they were soaked to the bone. I didn't feel as if the man was staring at me, but I somehow knew that the guy knew I was purposely ignoring him. I didn't even think it was the eavesdropping thing, for I didn't even think to do it. I liked that I had the power to do so, but it took some time getting familiar with to just think, "Hey, I'm special! I can read minds and tune them out! Whew!" At the right time. Thus, I was a rookie at superpowers and didn't bother to read his mind instead of spying on him. Besides, if he was curled up on the bench like that, he could have wanted someone to talk to…

Not wanting to be rude, I turned my head to face him directly to greet him. "'Lo," I said, nodding in acknowledgment, trying to act casual, but ended up muttering the greeting like I _really_ didn't care.

And then I noticed something. I _did_ recognize the man.

He was Ryuuzaki. L.

"Hi," he nodded in return. He acted like it was a real icebreaker, like he was grateful that I started to talk at all.

He performed his signature riveting of the eyes. I glanced back at the heavens again, not knowing what to do or say as I found him. I tried to ignore the silence, but found it un-ignorable. "So, what brings you here?" I spun my head to face him again, my hands limp at my sides. I walked to the bench.

"Well, since no one sees me as L, I can really go anywhere I want undetected and unafraid. I can escape from the computer occasionally, Demetra."

I smiled that he admitted to being a computer-geek. I looked down and saw that even outside, raining, in a public area, he still had no shoes. "I have no doubt that you can live outside of the darkness of the computer world, Ryuuzaki."

He smiled strangely, his lips curving upward, his thumb in his mouth. I then thought to read his mind.

_Demetra must be Kira. The questioning with Misa and her didn't go far, if anywhere at all. They have something in common, something dangerous, and perhaps the deadliest and worst. Misa is a model and Light is clearly a good-looking young man…and Demetra…Demetra is beautiful…those three are very beautiful people. It must be a quality that Kira and those who aid Kira must have…_

_To seduce others to their will—ultimately the Kira's will—is what the beauty is for. They use it to whatever extreme they can, even if by the time things get dangerous, people are no longer swayed by their looks and alluring charm, but that they've gone too far…_

_Demetra is so beautiful. It is quite obvious by her above-average looks that she has allied with Light. Why else would she and Light have gone out into that hallway together, attempting to make it seem coincidental? And why else would Mika and Demetra act friendly _and _hostile while talking to and parting from each other?_

_They all share the same sort of beauty, too. Soft hair, a great body, a sweet face, sparkling eyes, and they all smell nice, too._

The last thought threw me off guard, so I tilted my head, but made it look as if I were waiting for him to talk back to me.

_But Demetra, being American instead of Japanese, has blue eyes, which makes her very different…but very pleasing…a good weapon for Kira to use…_

He stroked his smirk with his thumb. _And since she has such jet-black hair and such bright eyes, it's different and rare to see, it could melt some people, warping their judgment…a very, very good tool for Kira._

I placed my hands on my hips, trying to act patient yet irritated…though it wasn't all an act.

_And dressed like that…I bet she's been doing Kira's _dirty work_ simply by catching peoples' eyes…or just their eyes catching her…but I mustn't fall under her spell…I made it this far resisting Misa and Light…_

I couldn't take anymore. Was he freaking joking? How could he be so enthralled with me that my looks helped me bump up his suspicions for my helping Kira? I had to talk, cut off his thoughts. "Wearing the wrong attire?" I asked half-jokingly. I just realized that a smile was still visible on my face.

His smile grew, revealing his teeth. He looked me up and down. I chuckled almost silently. "I'm not mocking you, I'm just asking if you're in the same position I am."

"But you have an umbrella," He raised his brows, his eyes somehow growing larger from the expression.

"But it's useless," I opened the umbrella, it got wet anyway from water hitting it even though it was closed. Water spat out it all directions. I laughed, a little embarrassed that I flung water at us both. "Sorry,"

"That's all right. It doesn't make a difference because of how long we've been out here." He stood, making a _slush_ noise as his bare feet smacked onto the drowning grass.

I heard other feet slapping the ground behind the bench. I focused my eyes past Ryuuzaki.

A bulky man with greasy black hair and was of average height. He stepped closer. "Oh, how cute, here's the little distraction my honey has been having."

Ryuuzaki turned slowly to face the outsider, his bent shoulders facing the man directly.

And I recognized the voice. But where? And what did he mean by "distractions" and "honey?"

"I've heard a lot about you, Demetra. Or do you actually prefer that cute little nickname, '_Dem?_'"

Oh, no. Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no. Oh, no. I knew who it was. Kyle.

"Are you familiar with Demetra?" L inquired, his thumb still pushing on his bottom lip.

Kyle jeered. "Yeah, my fiancée's in love with her!" I could see his bright brown eyes with dark grey bags under them glisten with insanity. He cocked a gun at my direction. "Are you trying to steal her, or something? Butt out!"

_Bang._

I was pushed by a force and landed on my back.

_Bang._

I heard a thud following the shot.

**Woohoo! Haha...love you guys....cliff hanger...ooohhh......reviews appreciated.....review...please.....you know you want to...thank you! :--)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Well...I don't own DN....I own Demetra/Dem, Mika, Adelle, Kyle, Demetra's parents, Mika's parents (these characters will come a bit later...)**

**Yeah...I haven't put up a disclaimer in a while....so....yeah...heed, obey, and don't steal...**

**Oh, yeah, and there's a poll on my profile....not many have voted...and unless more poeple vote soon, I'm just gonna not care and do all of the choices and then some more because they all seem like fun. (If you read the poll question, you'd know what I mean...) And if you have any more ideas, I'll certianly do them, too.**

**Enjoy. It's...pretty interesting...this chapter and the next one...definitely interesting...please review...**

**~Magique~**

"Dem! Dem!" I recognized Mika's voice. If she was here, she would be in danger, too. Footsteps accompanied the shrill calls. "Dem, Dem, are you OK? Dem?!" Someone leaned over me. I saw Mika's face. "Dem…?"

I furrowed my eyebrows in pain. Derision shot through my abdomen. I dropped the umbrella.

Her eyes flooded. "Kyle!?"

I was staring straight up to the rain clouds, and since my head was on the ground, I could barely hear Kyle walk over to us and bend over me. Even though he was talking to Mika, he glared down at me. "I warned you, honey."

"I know, I know, and I came as quick as I could!" She was reduced down to her knees, placing her hands on my arm. "Dem, I'm sorry, Dem-" Kyle interfered, yanking her up, pushing her aside. He glared at me. "See how whiney she is? She's a little young for me, but I'll take her." He plopped his heavy foot on my collar bone, a stinky, slick boot pressing the air out of me. "Should I take you?"

I knew he was bluffing, just trying to scare me, but it still got my heart thumping painfully in my throat. I gathered my strength and punched his groin. He yelled, spit flying out of his mouth and landing on my cheeks. I rolled over, his heavy body flowing with my motion, falling over and landing face-first in mud. He choked in pain. I didn't see how, I couldn't have even hit him that hard, I was weakened by the bullet.

However, Kyle recovered quickly and jumped to his feet. "I'll see you again, _Dem."_ He spat at me and harshly grabbed Mika's waist.

"Dem! I'm sorry!" He continued to drag her away. "I didn't mean to! He followed me and I accidently told too much! I didn't do it on purpose! Dem! You're my best friend! Dem!" Her voice abated into just the rain pounding on my face.

On my stomach, I could feel the bullet further itself in my gut. I popped open my mouth to silently scream, baring my teeth. Ryuuzaki was right in front of me, my head facing his side. He turned his head, peering at me. His mouth moved, but only gusts of his breath came out. He dragged himself closer to me. "Demetra…"

I rolled off my front and onto my side, staring blankly back at him, unable to express the pain I felt. I heard a series of thumps coming toward me and my body tensed. Ryuuzaki whispered labouredly, "Kyle…!"

Suddenly, an object pushed me so hard that I spun in mid-air and landed on my other side, the little breath I had knocked out of me. I saw Kyle, and he kicked Ryuuzaki, his body tumbling similarly to the way mine did. "I see you, Dem!" Kyle howled.

Dang, he was crazy.

Gradually I got up, grasping my wound and clenching my jaw. I started to loosen my corset to get my knife to slip out.

"Oh, so you're willing?" He stepped away from Ryuuzaki, closer to me.

The knife fell into my hand. I outstretched the blade and clumsily swung at him.

He chuckled. "That's cute, watching a baby doll try to act tough. How adorable," He pinched my cheek, and I swiped the blade across his palm.

He yelped in shock. I was drastically bent forward, the pain lessening when positioned like so. I continued to splice randomly at him, just trying to get him to back off. I then realized he must have been drunk, for of the sudden, he tripped over his own feet and couldn't get back up. I cut his arms and belly, trying to create pain, but trying not to be sadistic. If I ran into a lot of people like Kyle, I would probably have turned into a psycho-sadist-axe-murderer.

His torso twisted and he swung his limbs to regain dominance, but ended up rolling into a tree and his head clunked against the trunk. He stirred no longer, and I fell to the ground in exhaustion.

I wiped the knife on my skirt and dug into my side, attempting to get the metal out of my body; I wanted to bring enough pain for L to be unconscious so I could get the bullet out of his side. How could I bring him to a hospital? I didn't know his insurance, I didn't know how to give him a fake name, I didn't know if he had any records. I would have to do it the old-fashioned way, before medical procedures really existed. I'd use magic.

He'd have to be unconscious….I didn't think I could bring myself to let him watch me dissect his side, even if I channeled his pain so that he would forget it happened…I didn't think I could bare the wretchedness I would feel during the operation.

I felt a gentle pop in the lower part of my torso, and saw the bullet fling out of me. There was a lot of tension and relief in my body at once. My muscles tightened everywhere except where the bullet was because the pressure was lessened, creating the muscles around the wound to relax.

I sat up with difficulty and cut the arch of my foot. I wanted the hole in my middle to close so I could work on Ryuuzaki. I cringed as I felt my skin healing itself, my leaking blood being sucked back in and my heart pounding harder.

I saw Ryuuzaki's chest barely moving, hardly rising and falling…the slow, shallow breathing of an unnatural sleep.

I dug in his side as quickly as I could, but ended up pushing the bullet further into him. I hissed in disappointment. My hand shook from fear; there was no way I could let this slip, I had to help L, even if he did suspect me, I had to help him, I had to get the bullet out, I had to let him live.

Slower, I forced my hands to be steady and continue my work. After a while of mind-blundering anxious tries, the edge of the blade caught the rounded metal and I tugged it out. I cleaned the blade on my skirt again and went back to injuring my foot with my weapon. I wanted his wound to be sanitized and closed up. I kept running the blade across my feet until I thought I couldn't bring myself to do it anymore. I turned to him, and saw him stirring. I guess he started to feel it. His wound closed and the blood seeped back into his body, leaving no trace…except for whatever pain he felt.

He barely opened his mouth, forming a low, sustained wail in displeasure. His head lulled back and forth, his eyes shut tight. He breathed heavily, with great effort, and as each sigh pushed itself out, he huskily wheezed like a dying dog.

I couldn't leave him there, and I didn't know how long it would take for him to return to his norm, so I tucked the pocket knife back down my bust and picked him up, intending to carry him back to headquarters.

He hissed through his teeth as he departed from the ground. I couldn't believe how light he was. I knew he was thin, it was obvious, anyone could look at him and call him skinny, but he was very tall, so I expected that he would weigh more, though I never expected to carry him…

His body was vulnerable and relaxed in my hold, his head resting in the hallow of my neck where it connected to my shoulder. His wet crop was warm against my skin, I could feel the closed lids of his eyes on my neck.

The streets were mostly deserted, but those who did pass me by looked curiously at me, than at L, then looked away, confused, but unconcerned. I felt strangely masculine carrying him. I held him bridal style, the easiest way to transport him as I moved, plus it was the easiest position for him to breathe, even if was extremely difficult. I couldn't have dragged him, I would have thrown out my back and made his breathing harder than it already was; I couldn't have thrown him over my shoulder, it would have made me look even more like a murderer than I already looked to anyone who saw me, and would have made it impossible for him to breathe sufficiently at all.

I chuckled inwardly, sarcastically. Wasn't it the men who usually pulled these kinds of things? Saving themselves, then helping the victim, carrying them to their refuge? Then again, since we had no refuge, I supposed it only fit that I rescued and carried him.

Crossing the street was slightly challenging. Even when signaled to stop, the cars kept buzzing by. What was going on? Sure, traffic was always terrifying, but it was never plainly _unlawful._ Not like _this._ I didn't see anyone beside me or on the opposite platform to cross the street, so I was virtually alone. I dashed across the crazed roads, barely missing cars, trucks, and bicyclists. I tried to keep L's state as stable and smooth as possible, but I could feel his body flopping in my arms.

I eventually ended up at the building, my legs shaky and wobbly from overdoses of adrenaline from my battle against the drunken psycho and the traffic. I forced myself to trudge in the doors and up the steps of the building and into the headquarters' main room. I bit my tongue until I detected the repelling taste of blood instead of the salt of tears in reaction to the forced grinding of my tongue, a conscious action. I didn't want anyone to see or hear me while I was in headquarters, no one to ask me questions.

I wasn't sure if I created enough pain, but I was going to find out. I pushed the doors open with my foot and timidly walked in. No one shifted or moved in reaction to my presence. Good. I placed L in his normal seat and positioned him in his normal posture. I guessed his body was subconsciously used to and balanced in that way, for his body didn't sway, he just stayed. However, I couldn't believe he was so naturally comfortable like that to not spring into any other position. I eavesdropped on his thoughts, to see if he was thinking at all, to see if he was gaining consciousness.

_How did Demetra do this? Why did she do this? It all seemed to happen so blindingly fast and yet agonizingly slow. She_ operated _on me! That can't be! My wound, I can no longer feel it! It feels just fine! It seemed to magically close! Can the Kira do that? Do I have to revert my thinking back to the days of European witches from eras ago?_

Oh, frig! He was conscious! No! How was he conscious all this time? By the way I was operating, he would have been howling in misery! He _couldn't_ have kept quiet if conscious!

I didn't no how much longer I could go unspotted by everyone! I reached into the corset and swiped it against my calf, slowly, dramatizing the sharpness of the sensation. I eavesdropped on his thoughts again. I wanted him to have no thoughts, to be asleep.

I heard his thoughts, but they were almost nonsensical, like I was listening to him dreaming. It was like listening to old people ramble, to little kids explain their made-up visions of what they perceived as their realities, to people trying to escape insane asylums. He thought many things, but the thoughts went by so quick it was like listening to a Valley girl talk when telling a friend on a cell phone the wonders of a shopping spree. His thoughts weren't completing themselves, just jumping from one to the other. He dreamt of the team, Kira, Light, Misa, and me. I thought it strange, but he mostly dreamt of me. I could tell, for even when he wasn't necessarily 'talking' in his dreams like thoughts, he thought of images and pictures, so I was watching him see my face, viewing myself through my mind's eye from someone else's mind's eye…but this could have been the first time that my image ruled over his mind. He was still thinking when I forced him away from consciousness, so his thoughts probably shifted from reality to his dreams. His breathing became calm instead of labored, so I figured he was better.

However, I wanted him to forget all about it.

I glided the knife up and down quickly and deeply across my leg, hearing the rip of both my skin and the fish net stockings. I continued to listen to his thoughts, but his dreams still revolved around me and my saving him! What was wrong? How could this _not_ be enough pain? I was wincing and tearing and cringing without control, how could he _not _just forget a half an hour's worth of memories?

"Hey, when did Ryuuzaki get here?"

I snapped my head up and saw Matsuda ogling at L.

"Don't you mean," Soichiro replied, "When did he leave? And why is he soaking wet?"

I heard a chair shift and saw that Light turned to view—pretending to be interested and surprised—the commotion. "Actually, he left to investigate the conversation between Misa and Demetra," He crossed one of his legs over the other. "So, actually, he was gone for a while, but that doesn't explain his condition."

Sochiro looked back at his son. "But it was raining. I heard on the news that it would be cloudy all day, but in the late morning it would rain. That's not unexplainable."

Light rolled his eyes at his father. "But why is he sleeping?" He glared at me. He could see me. I stopped breathing, I was too stressed to make a nasty face back.

"Not so haughty, Light!" His father reddened in the face, but quickly calmed. "But we also don't know how long he's been in here." He turned back to L. "He actually could have been here for quite a bit…and since I've never known him to sleep…"

Matsuda tilted his head, his eyes never leaving L and a space eerily close to where I was squatting. "I saw him sleeping once! And he was positioned just like that!" He pointed his index finger at Ryuuzaki. "And he was only asleep for…an hour or so." He squinted his eyes. "Guys, I know this sounds strange, but tilt you head this way, to your right, like this." He paused. "Don't you see something?"

Uh-Oh.

I hastily stood but my knees buckled, slowing me from the position switch.

"Matsuda," The Light's father growled. "Stop—"

"But chief—"

"I'm not your chief!"

I bolted to the door, tripping and swaying from nerves and pain.

Matsuda's head followed me. "Look at the door! Something's there! An outline of something!"

Light was sitting back, enjoying the show.

I walked out of the room, wondering if Mika was in our living area already, or if she was forbade form returning.

Soichiro gasped. "What_ is_ that?" I pushed open the door and ran down the hall. "What was that thing?" Soichiro repeated.

"A ghost?" Matsuda answered, dazed.

"A ghost?" The ex-chief echoed. "No… it was probably nothing. You thought you saw something and I forced my brain to imagine something…"

"But we saw the same thing!"

The voices withered as I traveled farther away. And then I stopped. Why was I returning to my living area of the building? Mika wouldn't be there. I knew she wouldn't. Kyle would never bring her here.

Unless she escaped.

But that wouldn't happen. She seemed to be scared to death of him…of what he could do…

I gathered the little strength and will power I had and ran out the building, to the park, to cut myself in privacy to learn of Mika's whereabouts.

**Ooohh.......heh heh.....I love these semi-cliffies......because I already know what's gonna happen.....you're gonna love it! (I suppose...)**

**Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!! (gotta love those extra exclamation points...!!!!!!!!!!!!)**

**Wow. That's weird. Did anyone else notice how hyper I am? I shold totally have an interactive story with you guys, just to see what would happen. You dig? Leave it in the review. :--)**


	12. Chapter 12

**I don't own Death Note. I do own, however, Demetra, Mika, Adelle, Kyle, the Parents of Demetra and of Mika, and...that's it for now...**

**Geeze, guys, I sincerely apoligize for the wait! You would not believe that trouble it took me to finish this chapter! I kept making change after change after change....and then i threw away completely different obstacles in the story that would have probably changed the story entirely and epically....though the worse....and then I finally got a good idea. Now, there shouldn't really be a a big problem with the updating, now....So, I love you all for remaining my readers....ah, and please review. Please. Pretty please, with sugar and lollipops and cookies and cherries and pocky on top? OR ELSE!!!**

** Dang...that would make a wonderous icecream creation....anyway, here we go!**

Walking down the sidewalk that could take me to the park, I reflected of what I had just done.

_I was invisible. More than invisible, I was un-hear-able, unnoticeable. _

I stuck out my tongue and some blood spilt out of my mouth. Bleh, I had bitten my tongue so hard to be invisible that my tongue bled and it flooded my mouth. Not thinking, I swallowed from nervousness and grimaced from the movement of the metallic liquid.

But wait…I saw something…

I saw a black, shimmering limo—the same limo that carried Mika and me the first time I saw her in Japan. Sure, there were a gazillion limos in the world, and it could have been anyone's limousine, but I had a feeling, almost a force that tugged me toward it.

Closer, I recognized the license plate. I peeked in the tinted window. Of course I couldn't see anything. I moved to the driver's window, hoping that Kyle wouldn't be there, prepared to shoot my face off.

I didn't see anything. I wasn't at the best of angles, but I could at least see that there wasn't a head by the top of the seat. I tried the door, but it was locked. I moved my hand to the door with the tinted window, and it opened. My breath escaped me. It was pitch black, but I saw a struggling form on the seat. It coughed and it murmured, but it didn't actually speak. It seemed to attempt to advance toward me, but failed.

"Mika?" I asked, my voice squeaky with fear and fragile hope.

"Ma-umph! Dum!" I could tell it was Mika's voice! It was muffled and strained, but I was sure it was her.

"Catch ya later, Dem!"

I winced. I recognized that voice, too. "Kyle!" I screeched, my eyes focusing on the front seat, still unable to find his figure.

A shape immediately appeared in the front seat. He must have folded himself in, so that his head touched his lap instead of being straight when I first peeped in the vehicle.

His grimy hand shoved my face backward, forcing me out of the car. I fell backward, but kept standing. The car sped off and I chased it hopelessly. I saw the door slowly close automatically and the car made illegal turns and runs through stoplights and stop signs.

I continued in the direction where I last saw it, knowing I could never catch up. I slowed when my desperate running lead me to the park. I stopped, leaned on my knees, and coughed violently. More tears erupted from my eyes, both from the mourning of Mika and from the pain that shot throughout my chest as air noisily exploded from my lungs and ripped up my throat. I let my knees give way and stared blankly at the ground. What was I going to do? Could I do even do anything? Did I even have the will to move if I could?

I inhaled and exhaled doggedly. My eyes traveled to my hands. I was still holding the pocket knife! Oh, the possibilities that thing gave me…

I tore forlornly at my already injured leg. I held my weapon maladroitly, my hands awkward and shaky in my short-lived despondence. _Where is he taking her?_ I asked myself, wishing for the pain to give me an answer.

A thought jumped in my head._ Continue to go straight a few more blocks._

I did as my own voice told me. I passed five blocks, and the voice reappeared at an intersection of sidewalks and a parking lot. _Take a left right here._

I shuffled down the block, zombie-like, not really thinking, just listening for orders.

_Now, take a right,_

I obeyed. I kept walking for about twenty more blocks, and I finally concluded that the voice had left and that I had either passed the house or that my klutzy cutting wasn't sufficient enough. By the twenty first block, I jumped in surprise._ Turn left at this corner._

I gleefully did so, knowing that I was close. After all my traveling, the sidewalk was less crowded and turned more into something suburban, and the sidewalk itself waned into grass. At the corner, I saw an extremely long driveway. It must have been twenty-five feet back!

_Stop here._

The house was huge! It was a luxurious Western-style mansion! I followed the stone-paved driveway and saw a large garage that was open, revealing a black limo and a black, sporty Corvette. The garage was attached to the house, so I went in. There were concrete steps leading up to a dark wooden door with a stain glass window and a golden knob. I hesitantly turned the cold knob and opened the door. Warm, cozy air immediately washed over me, inviting me in.

I shook it off, not wanting to get comfortable. I shut the door, but not all the way. I didn't know if it would automatically lock when closed, so I let it be cracked, only slightly ajar.

It was beautiful. I was in a hallway with hardwood floors and cherry wood walls and ceiling, filled with chandeliers and paintings.

There was a nice carpet with blue floral patterns that was in the middle of the hall, and it grew wider as the hall expanded into a room. I crept along, clinging to nothing, not even the wall or letting my feet drag on the floor; I was careful not to make a sound or trap myself somewhere.

The room was big, empty, and had doors on all sides, everything made of cherry wood and accented with gold.

"Mika?" I whispered. Wide-eyed, I strained my voice to a harsh breath. "Mika? Can you hear me?"

Apparently not.

A door slowly opened, and my body tensed. I was just about to run, but a high-pitched, squeak was invented. "Dem? Is that you?" She sounded as if she was crying.

I gulped and leaned forward. "Yeah. Look, I can get you out—"

The door swung open, and there stood Kyle holding the door, Mika in the background, sitting on a bed, her head hanging low. It was a bedroom, apparently Mika's, for there were pink stuffs, anime posters, pictures of bands, old pictures of her and I, and flowers everywhere.

"Hey, Dem," His voice low, made the air heavy. He grinned. "Did you hear me? HEY DEM!" He lunged at me and I jumped back, stumbling over the carpet, smacking into the wall. Of course, the worst thing I could do to myself.

He scooted to me and narrowed his eyes at the knife. "Now, now, don't be tricky, now."

I kicked his shin and ran to Mika. "Mika, come on!" With my free hand I yanked her arm, but she wouldn't budge. I could feel time slipping. "COME _ON_!"

She took her arm back and used it to cover her face as she cried. I saw Kyle recover and leap toward me. He blocked the door. "So, Dem," He slammed the door. "How do you want to do this?" He stroked his greasy hair. "Mika could explain the rules. I know she knows all of them." He smirked.

I raised the knife. "What have you done to her?" I turned to Mika. "What did he--?"

She removed her arm and furiously shook her head, not looking at me. I glanced at Kyle and lowered my weapon reluctantly.

"That's better," He cooed.

I shot the knife back into the air and he pouted. I lowered it again and he grinned goofily.

"You either—" She hiccupped, then gagged. "Do as he says, and he won't kill you, or—" She sobbed. "You die."

I swallowed, shifting my eyes back to Kyle.

"So, what'll it be?" He raised his hands, as if weighing my options.

I stared at him and was about to ask him exactly what he wanted, but he spoke before I could find my voice.

"Demetra, Demetra, Demetra…" His grin grew wider, flashing yellow teeth, and chuckled. "You know what I want."

My mouth went dry. So he wasn't fibbing when we were at the park and he implied this very event? I nodded once, barely moving my chin.

He laughed. "You're so smart. Usually ahead of the ball game, but not always." He stepped closer. "Not this time. Now, put that thing away." He pointed to my knife.

Thoughtlessly, I dropped it down my top.

He reached for me. "You want me to get it?"

I punched him square in the jaw and he retreated. He cradled his face. "This is going to be fun."

I hopped near him and kicked his hip, then hopped back. He cursed, then spat, "Fine," He grabbed a gun from the pocket of his trousers and pointed it at me. "Is this convincing?"

I shook me head furiously.

He neared and lifted the gun, it touching my head. "Now?"

I didn't move. His other hand lightly tilted my head upward, moving the gun to my throat. I breathed quickly, his gun pressing into my neck, blocking my airflow. "Let's get started." He pursed his lips, leaned forward, then stopped. He turned his head to Mika. "Aren't you glad? You might learn a thing or two form this. You get to watch."

I heard her moan, the agonized cry broken from sobs. "So, Demetra," He faced me again. "Ever done this before?"

I stayed still, trying to think of how to get out of this.

"I'll take that as a 'no.'"

I swung my hand at his gun and knocked it out of his hand. He looked horrified, but slapped me so hard that I lost my balance and stumbled to Mika's bedside. I looked up at her, but she merely glanced at me then turned her head. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so, so sorry." Her voice was so quiet that I thought I only imagined it, but I heard Kyle reply, "Stop it, Mika! Stay out of this! You're only here to watch, not chat!"

The gun back in his hand, he had it lowered. "I can see where this may go if I continue this way. How about we make a deal?"

I cocked an eyebrow, not really interested, but somewhat.

"How about…I get what I want, no fuss, and I give you what you want."

What did I want? Would he give me her? No…he wouldn't…

He hesitated. "I…I'll give you whatever information you need to arrest me." He smirked. He could tell he was lying. Who did he think he was fooling? Unless…unless he still planned to over-power me, which I couldn't completely ignore, for I knew he could…He was scum, but he was a very muscular and bulky scum, a scum that was even worse than scum because he actually had some sort of power over individuals…

However, if I complied, it would almost guarantee my safety and Mika's…perhaps until the wedding…

I cleared my throat. "And why would you do that?"

His eyes twinkled. "Well, originally, I wouldn't. If I get found, I would contact a buddy and hire him to kill her family and do what he wants with her…" He fleeted a scornful look to Mika. "And then kill her. But, now, if you give some, you can get some, too."

"What about your buddy?" My eyes narrowed.

"Oh, well, you know, I could call it off, tell him not to kill no body." He held out his hand. "So, how about we shake on it? In agreement?"

I heard Mika whimper pathetically.

I stared at his hand. I wasn't a fan of handshake agreements….I preferred signed contracts…

I reached out my hand and firmly shook his.

"Heh-heh, you have a nice handshake there. Tells me a lot about your character." He kept his eyes on our hands for a while, and I was growing uncomfortable with his hands refusing to let go of mine. I could practically feel the filth of his touch swarming up my arm…

He at last released my hand, and I let it fall limp at my side, not willing to let it touch another part of me, spreading his cooties…I involuntarily shuddered. How would I feel with _a_ _lot_ of his skin touching mine?

He laughed at my disgust. He reached out his hand and stroked my hair. I automatically scowled. His smile grew at my displeasure.

And that was it for me.

I kicked his groin as hard as I could. I kicked him again. And again. And again. And again. I was determined to kick him until I was sure he wouldn't be able to have kids, and perhaps never be able to have intercourse or successfully pleasure himself. I continued to strike him with my foot, moving to his stomach. I stomped on his chest as he slunk to the floor and then ran to Mika. "Come on, Mika, run!"

She shakily stood and came to my side. She took my hand, but that only seemed to increase the severity of her quaking. I ran, but Mika was behind me. "I can't—can't run that fast, Dem!"

I groaned. She was always a slow runner while I was one of the fastest. Sure, gym was never my favorite class, but if I had to run, I'd be going dang fast. And this was one of those times.

We exited the house, not bothering to close the doors or anything. I thought about taking the limo or the sporty car, but remembered that Kyle would probably have the keys…and it was probably a stolen car, and he could probably trace it.

I vaguely recalled the way that I came. I felt as if I had directions to get out of a maze in dream many years ago. Nothing even seemed real, somehow. We were both frightened out of our wits, not really scared of what happened, but scared of what could have happened, and what might happen if we didn't get to the city soon.

But we kept running. Jogging, in my case. I could tell Mika was running as fast as she could, but it was a sluggish jog to me. We eventually came to the bright lights and tall building of the city, the suburbia left behind, though not forgotten.

We stayed there for a while, wordlessly, breathless.

Mika finally spoke. "Thank you."

I exhaled. "No problem."

He panted. "No, seriously, thank you. I don't know how the heck you got us out of there." She hugged me. She was sweaty and still shook terribly, but that was fine, because I was sweaty and I was a little unsteady, too. I hugged her back. I didn't know why, but I appreciated the hug more than anything I ever had before. I wanted us to keep holding each other, somehow feeling as if nothing was wrong, like our touch could heal everything and sugarcoat it…somehow. I didn't know if I would ever be ready to let go. I wanted to cry. Even though we were both defenseless and scared, I felt so much better in the sisterly embrace. It was completely obvious that only our complicated but genuine friendship could keep me from breaking down, and the same probably applied to her.

She let go, tears racing down her face.

I wanted to join her, to cry with her, but I knew I shouldn't. "Mika, why are you crying, now?"

She sniffed. "I'm so happy I have you, Dem." She wiped her tears with the back of her hands. "I didn't know what was going to happen to me back there. I didn't know what was going to happen to you." She sobbed and leaned on my shoulder.

I glanced around, finally taking in our surroundings. We were by some antique store, it was closed, and cars were continuing to zip by like they were this morning, like there was a race, like everyone was running from the cops, like everyone was an escaped criminal. It was insane. I was afraid that they would just bust on the sidewalk and kill all the pedestrians.

She backed up a step, but was still very close to me. "What do we do now?"

"Um…" I shrugged, a bit unsure myself. We could go back to—" I stopped myself. I forgot everything else. I thought my heart stopped. I moved my right hand to my left side, just under my heart. The wiretap! It recorded everything! My hand shot up to my throat, I thought I was going to choke! The team had solid proof that Kyle was a scumbag and they could arrest him! They had a number of reasons to get him…attempted rape, they could guess about the theft, abduction, attempted murder…oh, the list went on…

He couldn't get arrested, he would get someone to kill her and her family!

I whimpered and quickly covered my mouth with my hand.

"Dem, what's wrong?"

I backed up, shaking my head.

"Dem?"

Oh, what was I going to do?

"Dem," Mika took my face in her hands. She studied me, knowing that it was completely unlike me to flip out. "Tell me what's wrong. We just escaped Kyle, so now what's up?" She smiled at me. "Aren't you the one that's supposed to keep control? Come on," She let go of my face and poked my shoulder. "You're the level headed on, you can do it!"

I breathed deeply, but it was shaky.

She shook her head at me, but didn't really seem to know what to do, so she ignored my minor freak out, which I liked. I slipped back into composure, but I knew my stress showed around the edges; I knew my hands were shaking, my legs felt wobbly, and my throat felt tight.

"Should we cross the street? There's the little green person on the pedestrian sign, and the traffic light is on red."

I observed the traffic, but the cars never stopped. What was wrong with them? Did all the drivers suddenly go crazy?

"No, Mika, I think we should wait until things get less dangerous."

"Oh."

I looked around and saw some skinny, black-haired man a couple feet from me. I looked away, back at the traffic, then I did a double-take on the fellow. It was L. Was he following me this whole time? Crap, I hoped not…

I weakly waved and he motioned the same gesture. I turned to Mika. "Hey, Mika, come on,"

She looked at me but didn't say anything. I stopped until I was in arms-reach of him, Mika tailing right behind me.

He nodded to me, his thumb in his mouth. "Hello, Demetra. Good to see you this evening." Water dripped from his baggy clothes and slid off his hair, but he wasn't completely soaked like before, and I finally noticed that though I was still wet, it wasn't as bad as it was before.

I gave him a curious look. "It's good to see you, too, Ryuuzaki." I turned to Mika. "Mika, this is Ryuuzaki. Ryuuzaki, this is Mika."

He kept his thumb in place. "Pleased to meet you."

She nodded back. "Same here."

His attention reverted back to me. "We need to have a talk at headquarters."

I nodded. I knew.

"Come on, then." He walked a couple feet ahead and then turned his head back to us half-heartedly. "Aren't you coming? We have a lot to talk about, Demetra." He continued to walk and didn't look back. I muttered a curse under my breath and followed him and eventually was at his pace. Mika clung to my opposite side, slightly behind me.

"So, Mika, you're happily living in the building with Demetra?" Ryuuzaki said. He made it sound more of an insignificant statement than a question. What was he pulling? Small talk? What was the point? He knew Mika was living with me and _he _knew that _she _didn't know about the cameras. Unless…

"Oh, yeah," Mika replied. "It's pretty cool, I guess."

"Hm, well, we have a lot to talk about with you, too, Mika."

_Oh, no. please, no. Don't tell her about the cameras….why? Oh, frig._

She eyed him curiously, searching my face for answers, found none, then stared straight ahead.

We didn't talk the rest of the walk back to headquarters. I still couldn't rightly figure out why he would want to tell Mika about the cameras unless he wanted to confront her about Kyle. Which would be bad.

Crap. I didn't know what to do. But I had to think fast. But think of what? What to lie about. What could I lie about that wouldn't catch up to me later and hurt me? I didn't know where to start. Could I tell him the whole truth? Um…truth? I just remembered the gashes at my legs and other self-inflicted wounds. What…was I…going… to do?

No. I had to tell everything that Mika was telling. It wouldn't matter if she lied as long as I was there to back her up.

But Mika was a horrible liar. The only good lie she had was that she was happily engaged to Kyle—which didn't last long.

Crap. What was I going to do? What lie could weasel me out of this? Or would the truth work? But it wouldn't.

We arrived and entered the lobby. Ryuuzaki lead us to headquarters where the rest of the team was.

"I'd like to introduce you, Mika, to the team." He didn't call out individuals names. He just presented the team as a group, as if the group was an individual.

Each member bowed slightly and introduced themselves politely. Light bowed a moment longer than normal and finally stated his name. Mika cracked a smile as he spoke to her, but at no one else.

And I hoped that this wasn't the start of something.

L sat in his usual position on a couch and picked at a tray of strawberries. "Sit down Demetra, Mika. You'll be here a while."

I growled, but it was so low I could barely hear it, which I was grateful for, but only to an extent. We sat on a couch opposite of him. I was directly across from him and Mika was beside me.

Mika followed my actions and though she clung to my side, her attention flitted between L and me and Light. It was annoying, and I could tell that Light sensed her watching him, but he was so full of himself that he just took it on with a smirk.

"But first I think we'll take care of Mika," He finished swallowing the fruit. "Mika, you realize that Demetra is helping us catch Kira, correct?"

"Oh, yeah, of course." Her eyes shifted to him and actually stayed there. I refused the urge to count the seconds that would go by until she would look back at Light as he sat highly and mightily at the large computer screen across from us.

"And are you aware of anything else?" He leaned forward, closer to me, but his eyes were glued to her.

"Um…" She looked away, biting her lip. "Isn't Dem suspected of, you know, being Kira?"

He nodded once. "Correct." He craned his head closer to me and his eyes continued to shift. "You haven't told her, Demetra?" The corners of his mouth twitched. I bet it took all his strength to not laugh hysterically at me. He wanted me to really look like the bad guy, and he was doing it in front of my best friend.

Mika was very easily manipulated with certain things, while others she was even more stubborn than a mule. My mind raced, pounded against the thought of L playing mind games with her to make her unwittingly say something against me, and her possibly believing it. Or worse, if what was going to be said against me was true.

Mika tilted her head and nervously darted her eyes at me. "Tell me what, Dem?"

I eyed L for a second, and then turned to her to answer, but he cut me off. "There are cameras in your apartment, Mika."

Her eyes widened. "Are you serious? Everywhere? Why?" Her breathing was heavy.

He nodded. "Yes, everywhere." Of course he didn't answer the other question. He was testing her loyalty—and the liberty she allowed her mouth—and determining the amount of information I gave to Mika.

"Dude—even the freakin' _bathroom?"_

He sharply nodded. "Yes, of course. Everywhere."

Her mouth dropped. She whipped her head in my direction. "YOU DIDN'T TELL ME? WHY?!?" her eyes teared and she bolted into the hallway.

The slam of the door hurt my ears. Without a word I chased after her. I caught her within a couple steps; she was never the fastest runner, and I was always fairly physically active and fit. I grabbed her arm. "Mika!"

She turned to face me. "_How could you?_ Why didn't you tell me? That's, like, a violation!!"

I pulled her closer so she wouldn't wriggle out of my range. "Mika, if you know I'm suspected, why do you think they have cameras everywhere?" I paused. She glared at me. "They were watching _me—_they couldn't give a crap if you took a shower every night or if you tripped and thought no one was looking; they were watching_ me. They were making sure I wasn't Kira. They suspect me. They're watching me._ Don't you understand?" I stared at her. My mind drifted in and out of the main room and here. I knew they couldn't hear us out here. I wondered if they wondered…or _suspected _anything.

Her glare softened and her tears fell less bitterly. "Oh, yeah, I forgot!" She cupped her hands together under her chin. "But it's not my fault!"

I tried not to roll my eyes. Why was she concerned about something being her fault? I didn't blame her for anything, and yet she had to make sure her hands were clean. I didn't even understand what she didn't want to be blamed for. "Look, you have to pay attention to what he says." Something I knew she wouldn't do. "He tries to trap you into saying things, and he lies and tricks people to tell stuff or say the wrong things. OK?"

She nodded eagerly. "OK,"

"But you can't let him know that you know. You gotta be as sneaky as he is."

"Sneaky as he is." She echoed. "Right."

"Act natural."

She smiled. She probably thought she was on a spy mission or something.

I didn't know what else to say. "Yeah, well, let's go."

We walked back to the room and no one acted like anything happened. We seated ourselves in the same couch. The only thing that changed about L was that a few fruits on the tray were missing and that he was back on his side of the furniture instead of leaning towards ours.

"So, Mika, why don't you think Demetra didn't tell you this?"

"Uh…" She paled. "'Cause something would happen?"

"Like what, Mika?" He tilted his head.

"Umm…" She looked at her hands. "I guess she knew I would freak out." She giggled nervously. "Like I did now. And, like, I totally would have. Like, if she told me sooner. It wouldn't make anything better or worse if she told me sooner or later."

"But like you said a few moments before your outburst, you said that was a violation. Did you mean a violation of the law?"

I emptily gazed back and forth as each of them conversed. No matter what, I was going to lose something.

"Um….no…"

"A violation of what?"

"I don't know!"

"A violation of friendship?"

Her face suddenly looked angry, but it quickly washed away with confusion and another emotion that I couldn't accurately interpret. "No…not at all…I mean, she's not perfect…I mess up all the time, I mean, she's allowed to screw up every once and a while." She smiled, almost like she was afraid. "But she's, like, such a perfectionist that it's weird when she finally does screw up."

"A perfectionist?" He echoed.

I lowered my eyes. I knew exactly what he was trying to do, now. He was trying to find any way he could to push the title of 'Kira' to me. Great. And Mika wasn't exactly monitoring her mouth… and Kira wants a perfect world, and he has a seemingly perfect plan of a perfect world, and Mika just called me a perfectionist. Wonderful. Fanfreakingtastic.

"Well, yeah. Like even when we were in school, she'd totally flip if she got lower than an A. It was kinda funny back then, 'cause she'd be all upset by getting a C, and I'd get a C and I'd be celebrating." Her face showed the distress she was in to make obvious my certain innocence, but I didn't think she knew she was horribly failing at her attempt.

"I see." He unwaveringly stared at her for roughly thirty seconds. "So what made you say that someone violated you, if clearly Demetra did nothing of the sort? Were you lying?"

"No! I just…was shocked…and like, didn't know what to say. Didn't really mean it, I just was…really surprised…and…"

"Hurt? Hurt that someone _lied _to you?"

"No," she replied coldly.

"Well, you shouldn't feel hurt that someone lied to you, now should you? People do it all the time. And you can't blame Demetra for _just being human_." He emphasized, mostly to me and probably Mika, too, that I, suspected of Kira, should not think myself as a god…or goddess…only not yet… "Because that would be a very unhealthy case of hypocrisy. You're not a hypocrite, are you?"

She shrugged.

He continued to stare. "Yes, yes you are. You just lied right now. And you've lied about a lot of other things, haven't you? So you're probably used to it by now, aren't you?"

She reddened deeply. "Nugh-ugh! Who are you to be telling me this crap, anyway? To lecture me? Why are you telling me this? Just to make me feel bad?"

He placed his hands on his knees and gripped. "Why are you engaged to Kyle?"

She swallowed. A heartbeat went by. "What kind of dumb question is that? It's because I love him."

He was completely calm, almost bored, maybe only slightly interested in the conversation. "Stop lying, Mika. It's terribly easy to catch you in them, so just stop. It will waste less time."

She glared at him.

There was a rushing sound in my ears.

She grumbled. "Well, you wouldn't get it anyway. You're a real creep. I can tell you're young, but you look like an ugly old man. You're slouched over, you look like as if you haven't slept in, like, years, so there's no way_ you_ could ever know what love is." She raised her voice. She was visibly, almost violently angry. "I mean, everyone around you is probably too wigged out to touch you, nonetheless get to know you personally and love you and stuff. Do you even know what it is, like, by definition? You're like, a twenty-five year old virgin that masturbates in the bathroom. I mean, you're the kind of creeper that strikes me that way."She was beet-red with rage and her voice was high-pitched as it got louder.

"Oh, really?" He toyed. He was starting to have fun with this. Too much fun too soon.

"Yeah! You're a heartless pervert!" I could tell by the look in her eyes that her mind was back to the cameras in the bathroom.

"But you barely know me. How could you judge?" He waited for a smart remark, but she was speechless. "Me…a pervert…?"

Her eyes swelled. She was obviously frustrated beyond her mental tolerance. "I'M NOT GONNA FREAKIN' SIT THROUGH THIS!!" She stomped away and I could only guess that she stormed up to our living area. Even though she just discovered there were cameras there, and that they could see her temper tantrum, she didn't really have anywhere else safe to go.

Ryuuzaki calmly picked a strawberry off the tray in front of him. "We can talk to Mika later when she gets a hold of herself." I lifted my eyes to him and tried to abandon all emotion I had. I couldn't get angry; there would be no point, no positive effect. But I wanted to get angry…

"I'll talk to you, then." He licked his lips. His eyes were widely open and lazy, like he was sleeping with them open. "It's a puzzle to me how a strong individual, a _smart_ individual, could get caught in a trap like this, Demetra."

My muscles tensed. I tried to return his blank stare. I totally tuned out what everyone else in the room was doing. Actually, I didn't even know if anyone else was still here.

"A tragic teen love story. A young, naïve, innocent girl gets with a danger like Kyle. Why? Why does she stay? She's pretty passive-aggressive, and she doesn't seem to like anyone but you, Demetra."

I couldn't swallow.

He paused, staring at me, monitoring me. "Teenagers get into plenty of sticky trouble they know they shouldn't be in, but they do it anyway. Some adults are like that, too. Idiots. But, Demetra, you're very intelligent, you have sharp and precise deductive skills, and you have a knack for doing things that need to get done." He waited for it to sink in. Compliments first, blow downs second. "But you allow Mika to dig a deeper hole for herself. On the surface, I don't care, but this change, this switch from your norm to suddenly being helpless when it comes to Mika's engagement, is very similar to the changes I would expect Kira to have. Almost a bi-polar or multiple personality disorder."

I stayed silent. Something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I concentrated my peripheral vision on the object, willing myself to not move my eyes off L. I saw a shinigami I didn't recognize. I suddenly felt a presence by my side and I got goose bumps.

"Oh, Demetra, dearie," Adelle appeared form nowhere and casually stretched her arm across my back, resting her hand on my shoulder. No one showed any signs that they could hear her. "This'll all be over, soon. He won't bother you anymore." She cooed.

_Who is that?_

"Oh, the shinigami? She's beautiful, isn't she? Her name's Rem. She's our friend, dearie, and she'll be more of a help to you than Ryuk was." She chuckled. "Of course, he's useful, but this is going to be _great_."

I swallowed.

The power went out. I heard Matsuda yelp, "What's this, a power outage?"

Adelle laughed tauntingly in my ear.

A pain swelled in my gut. My eyes widened from both pain and to the sudden change of light to darkness.

"_Somebody died." _Adelle hissed adoringly in my ear. "_Watari,"_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Greetings....form the outside world...so...I do not own anyhting regarding Death Note, save for this fanfic, and my characters, Demetra, Mika, Demetra's parents, Mika's parents, Adelle, Adelle's followers (unless you became a follower...I can't own you...BUT I CAN OWN YOUR MIND! Ahem) and Kyle/K.... **_

_**You will review. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!! Yes, you do. So do it. Read this, and review. **_

_**I have noticed that a couple reviews have questions in them...some I cannot reveal the answers because they are a part of the story, and others I can. I'll post the answers with the next chapter, OK? OK! Now...enjoy!**_

"What? A data deletion?" Was repeated in choruses, I couldn't tell when it started or when it ended.

L's features swiftly twisted. "I instructed Watari that if something happened to him, he would make sure no data was left behind." He seemed unnaturally not unreadable. I've never known Ryuuzaki to be angry, though perhaps this was a slight twinge of fear or sadness, but anger was the emotion I would have named it. He didn't seem frightened, but like he was nervous and realized that he had to take charge so nothing else happened.

L was just about to say something when his wide eyes suddenly opened wider and his mouth clamped down.

He stopped breathing.

He froze, his dead eyes locked on me. I small grunt or gasp erupted from his throat, like a cry from a dying animal that didn't bother to open its mouth because it knew it couldn't be helped.

He fell forward onto the table and slid off it. Everything seemed to go in slow motion and yet too quick for anyone to keep up. He landed between the couch and the table, his knees bent and his back arched into himself even tighter than usual. He gasped for breath twice.

I dragged him into a more open area. His blank eyes seemed to be staring off to a place that I knew I couldn't see. Adelle, still at the couch, purred to me, "I imagine he is watching his life flash before his eyes." She laughed insanely yet remained dignified.

I stared at L. Not necessarily in disbelief, but in denial. I knew it was happening; I just didn't want it to. How would Light be caught, now that L was as good as dead? My hand gently gripped L's shoulder as the other held his head. He slowly closed his eyes and didn't reopen them.

Adelle grinned. "He's _very_ special. We'll all benefit from his death on this earth."

Light gradually became more unstable. "Hey, Ryuuzaki!" He leaped to my side and firmly shoved me and shook L's body. The reckless, disrespectful demon.

I couldn't think of anything else to call him. He was really pure evil. I couldn't imagine pulling the tricks he was and still be able to look at myself in the mirror and still love myself. Maybe he didn't. Then again, he thought that he was right and everyone else was wrong. The freaking mentally unstable narcissist.

"What's wrong? Snap out of it!" He pretended to be on the verge of tears. It made the sick feeling in my stomach worse to watch his act and hear his make-believe cries.

"What is it?" His father called.

"Watari's dead—L's dead—we're next!" He stood, letting L's body gently plop on the floor.

I screamed thoughts and obscenities at him, though willing those thoughts to not be heard by anyone. It was tempting to shout in his head, but it wouldn't be worth it.

Everyone gasped and prepared themselves for death. A whole dragged-on second went by, and nothing happened. Everyone became ill-at-ease.

Light called after the shinigami. Ugh! He had this planned out from the beginning! Use a shinigami, Misa's, probably, and kill Ryuuzaki. Then, that shinigami would give Light the notebook….just to touch, or to keep? With the notebook, if he kept it, he could kill people and his name would be cleared! And that left my name…!

"Shinigami! Come out! Where are you? Show yourself!" He left his so-called friend's body and disappeared.

His father followed him. "We should look for him, too." He whipped his head to me. "Demetra, stay here with him! Everyone else, come!" Soichiro lead the team to Light.

Silence. It was creepy to be with L's motionless body, a terrifying ominous presence pressing down on the room.

But maybe it didn't have to be this way. I could do anything. I just had to pay the right price. Anything. Any price.

I could defy the Death Note.

I grabbed the pocket knife and dug into my legs. They were already butchered from the park trying to get Mika, but I had to try.

He didn't stir. Adelle growled from the couch. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving him," I then remembered that I should save Watari too. Another day for him.

"He's on the brink of going to his niche in the after world! Don't take it away!" Her voice grew tight.

My back was still to her. "Well, now he doesn't have to bother with finding a path on the other side…" Ugh. Deeper. "For now. He can go to his after-world niche later. Now we need him."

She pouted, but then, somehow, I felt that she had shrugged. "Either way, it's going to end the ways it's supposed to. You'll know what to do." She then talked to herself more than to me, though it didn't really matter because she spoke in a riddle. "Though I hope you actually_ do_ it."

I turned to her slowly, half glaring at her, half staring in utter bafflement.

She blinked then shrugged. "You will."

I didn't bother to respond. I took a deep breath and made a clean line across my stomach. The sick feeling went away and was replaced with a light, fluttering feeling, like I was going to faint. I stopped thinking about the cutting and my wounds and just mindlessly, relentlessly went back and forth with the sharp edge.

I started to cry. It hurt even worse when I cried, so I silently sobbed, the jerking movements of my gasping and hiccups uncomfortably ripped me and tugged at my skin. I wanted to scream, but dared not to.

Somehow, my throat hurt from oppressing my screams. I placed the knife back down my top and wiped the tears from my face. I was glad that my stomach was covered by a corset so no one would see my wound. But my legs…oh well.

My arms were drained of their strength as I leaned over L and slid my hand under skull. My other hand held up L's wrist, feeling for a pulse. "Ryuuzaki," I strained. "Ryuuzaki," I forced the effort it took to yell, but it only came out just above a whisper.

I felt a slight bump from his wrist. And another. I peered into his face and saw his nostrils move according to his breaths. His chest shallowly moved up and down. "Ryuuzaki," I breathed. His eye brows furrowed then relaxed, and he opened his eyes half-way.

He gasped and a tiny smile planted itself in his features. Then, after about a minute of him smiling and staring, his eyes widened to their normal, though the smile remained. He looked happy, so very happy. Then it faded. His eyes lost their glaze, and his mind was in the present reality.

I regretted taking him away from whatever place that made him smile, but I had to…especially since it was a murder. So, I saved him, which was a good thing, for now, since he's going to live, Light probably won't bother to kill L again.

Perhaps, now, then, everything shall end like it's supposed to.

He moaned. "D—Demetra?"

I lengthened the gap between our faces. "Ryuuzaki," I whispered. "Are you all right?"

He froze, barely breathing, and lunged at me.

I paused. I was completely caught off guard. Instead of attacking me, he was embracing me, something I knew he didn't do often. I slowly enclosed my arms around his form, constantly worrying that he was awake, but in a dream-like state, and then when he finally, completely awakened, he would just push us apart and it would be awkward to say the least.

I waited, feeling our body heat bond and spread between us. My arms became warm from his back, and his head gave a pleasant heat to my shoulder and neck. I felt uncomfortable that the sensations were overwhelmingly welcoming. I gulped, pressing my cheek against his head. We didn't talk for a couple minutes. A part of me wondered if we didn't talk only because we were both too timid to make any noise. Another part of me wondered if we were both enjoying this too much because we were socially deprived.

"Demetra…what happened?" He sounded groggy, but his heart raced and banged against mine.

I looked around nervously. I wanted him off me. Now. I couldn't hug him and lie to him. I couldn't hug him and tell him the truth, either. I breathed in deeply, self-consciously. "You were explaining the data deletion and you were about to say something else, and then you fell over. We thought you were dead. We thought Kira killed you with the Death Note."

He didn't answer right away. His enfoldment hardened ever so slightly. "And was I?"

I stuttered and felt myself stiffen. "Well, you couldn't be talking to me if you were."

He sighed, his exhale warming a part of my shoulder. It cooled and got goose bumps. "Couldn't I?" His weight gradually relaxed and totally relied on my for support. "Demetra, think of it, what if there was a way—" He stopped abruptly and firmly yet uncharacteristically warmly tightened his hold.

Something formed in my throat. "Like a Life Note? Ryuuzaki, don't you think that's a bit far fetched? Even with what we've been through, that's almost even more absurd."

"No, Demetra, though that is rather close to what I'm thinking…" His voice lowered to a whisper. "But would you dare think it?"

I shifted all the weight of my head on top of his so his head was holding mine up solely. I really wanted him to let go, but I was also extremely drained. I could almost get comfortable. "Ryuuzaki, what are you talking about?"

He lifted his head to the level of mine and pressed his cheek against mine. He spoke lowly in my ear. "I know something about you, Demetra, but not even I know what."

I forgot to breathe. My eyes widened as I strained the corners of my eyes to gawk at the side of his head though daring not to move my own. I inhaled, feigning calmness. "I hope you find out," I swallowed quieter than I expected. I stared at the floor.

"I do, too." He stopped. We didn't speak again. I heard footsteps down the hall coming closer. "Let me help you up," I said as tenderly as I could. I painfully shifted my head and slowly came up as I reached my hand out to him. "Perhaps you should lie down?"

He took my hand and I assisted him to stand. "Thank you, Demetra." He tilted his head at me when he reached his full height. "Where are the others?"

I cleared my throat. I just noticed that when we were embracing he actually touched me, with both hands, not just a timid pointer finger. How he actually took my hand instead of shying away and getting up himself. I then realized he had asked me a question."Down the hall. They were chasing the shinigami that killed you." It wasn't until I finished that I realized I wanted to take back those words. Hopefully he didn't take that statement as a confirmation that he was indeed dead and came back.

"Was it a shinigami that killed me?" He leaned forward, his forehead almost touching mine. By the tone of his voice he was implying that someone, not something, had killed him. He was also confirming he was dead and somehow came back.

I shortened the already claustrophobia-inspiring gap between our faces. I smirked slightly. I couldn't help it—an idea struck me to explain at least that I didn't kill him. "One needs a name and a face, right?"

Ha. I was finally getting good at this chess game. Was this a checkmate?

"And one can make a deal with that shinigami, correct?" He pushed his head so it barely touched mine. I held back a shiver. I suddenly felt a million times shorter than he was. However, just to stand my ground, I never let my tiny grin of a false triumph fade.

He smiled. He lengthened the space between us but never stepped away. He tilted his head and locked me into his gaze. "You're killing me." His grin widened, actually showing teeth. "And you save me every day."

Light entered the room. He stood and gasped. I looked past L and saw the young wanna-be-god. He looked like he was about to cry. He looked positively vulnerable, shocked, as horrified as if he'd seen a ghost.

I tried not to point and laugh.

L turned his head, not moving his body, as if Light was not even worth the effort of turning his torso. "Hello, Light." He paused, watching Light recuperate. "How's the investigation? The shinigami?"

Light produced a sound, and I had to double check my memory bank to make sure that noise was human. "L—what are doing here—I mean—" He stopped, then suddenly became eerily stable. "The shinigami left this behind." He held up a Death Note. "For we was hers—and it was in a pile of dust. We think it committed suicide."

L turned back to me looking at me, yet looking through me. "And how can a god of death commit suicide, Light-_kun_?" He emphasized the informal ending. His smile was reborn.

"Well, we don't know. How are we supposed to know? It…did something to cease its existence. We'll investigate it, but I cant' see it going far as we hardly know anything about the Death Note—"

"Light-kun, I think you should give yourself a break. You've worked so hard that when you saw me just now," He paused and let his fingers dance across his lips, still not facing Light. "You looked as if you'd seen a ghost." He caressed his smile as if the stretch of his facial muscles was foreign to him and he was exploring it. "You obviously need some rest."

The others walked in. Matsuda screamed. "L is haunting us! He—"

Aizawa cut him off. "Shut up!" He looked L up and down. "Are you OK?"

L faced them all. "Yes, of course I'm OK, what are you all fussing about? Demetra was here to guard me, don't you trust her?" His smile revealed more teeth. I could still see a good portion of his face—his skin was smooth and his teeth were surprisingly white. They weren't blinding, but with all the sweets he eats, I was a little surprised.

Matsuda refused to give up as the others tried to add the nonsense in their heads. "But—we saw you! You collapsed on the floor and Demetra came to your aid—" He looked at me and his eyes widened as he noticed a slit in my corset and the gashes across me legs, but said nothing. His mind probably reverted back to when I was in confinement 'for my safety.' "And…she…you…how…? You…heart attack?" He hyperventilated. "ZOMBIES?!"

Did he try to be stupid…?

L shook his head. "No, Matsuda, that's ridiculous. Obviously I had died and I came back as fine as I always was."

They stared. Even Light was stupefied.

L stepped closer to me and placed his index finger on my shoulder, like he was poking me, or summoning me eccentrically. "And let us thank Demetra for being my witness, for endeavoring to help me." Then he mouthed. "_And I'll find out how you did it._"


	14. Chapter 14

**So... I do not own Death Note. I do own, however, Demetra, Mika, their parents, Adelle, and Kyle. Thanks. I know I haven't update in a while....but now I've updated. Yay. let's all have cookies in our reveling. Ok. That's done. Please Read and Review. Read and review, pretty please, with L's favorite sweets on top. :--)**

I stepped into the bathtub to shower. With my bloody clothes in the trash, I winced as I let myself slouch awkwardly with my head low—my stomach wound did not get any better when I had to climb up the steps to get into my living quarters. However, I hated the elevator because I subtly hated all elevators in general—if something happened, you would be stuck in that little box. On a stairway, you could go anywhere.

I turned on hot water. I shut my eyes tight as the hot water spat out, stinging my insides.

_ADELLE!_ I called out into my head. _Come here and take my pain away! NOW! Help me!_ Quiet tears escaped my eyes. They were just as hot as the streaming water. I looked down at my horrifying legs. "Help…me…" I formed the words on my lips, but no sound came out.

"What do you want?" She sang sweetly, on the other side of the curtain.

I coughed and more tears came. _Help me! _

She shifted, seeming irritated.

I involuntarily released a lungful of air with too much force. _Just do as I asked—help me! Make this go away! Make the cuts disappear! I know you can do it! _I gritted my teeth and grimaced.

"How do you think I could do that?" There was too much playfulness in her voice for my liking.

_Pull a magic trick or something!_

She sighed. "What else do you want?"

_Why are you messing with me? Nothing! I-- _Relaxing my face, I lifted my head in realization. _Watari._ The name echoed in my mind.

She exhaled. "I thought so. Dearie, you know what's going to happen to you, as it's your curse to have a price…?"

I swallowed slowly. It was hard to get the gulp to go all the way down. _I know. Do as you may._

Even though I've made deals with Adelle before, sometimes she had to cause me pain, sometimes she didn't. It depended how big it was and if she was willing to do it. Everything involving her was very fickle.

I felt her smile. "Good. At least you know you will have no room to complain or whine when it's all said and done…"

My stomach tightened suddenly and I was forced to my knees. _Erase their memories! Don't let them remember seeing my wounds heal themselves—or seeing me all beat and bloodied up when I returned—replace footage on the cameras, too! Replace it with me just going to my bedroom and sleeping—I don't care about the bloody clothes in the trashcan—you'll cover that on your own, won't you?_ I gasped as my blood retreated into my veins. I knew that while I was being repaired there was more pain than any other damage-undo because of all that I asked.

She chuckled, like I just reminded her of an inside joke, but I ignored her.

I grunted and exhaled with my eyes wide as I started to stand. I swiftly turned and shut off the water. I clumsily climbed out of the tub and wrapped a robe around myself and staggered into my bedroom. I didn't bother to check on Mika—if she was mad at me, so be it. If she got over it, she could talk to me tomorrow.

I dove onto my mattress and didn't bother to turn over. Everything hurt. My entire body felt as if a million little demons were chewing me with tiny piercing teeth. I lay there for a few minutes, my stomach churning noisily and painfully. Acid crept up in my throat. I dashed back to the bathroom and heaved. I must have been there for an hour before I finally calmed and the sickness stopped. I still felt queasy, but I wasn't puking anymore, which I supposed I was a good thing.

I never went to sleep. I constantly felt as if I were on the verge of hurling.

I heard my alarm clock. I stretched to switch it off and noticed my arm. It was repaired, but previous scars were not gone. I sat up and got dizzy. I immediately fell back to my pillow. It felt like it took me forever to lean back and finally hit the softness.

The landing startled me. I squeezed my eyes shut, almost in pain. I inhaled through my nose and slowly got up. The dizziness returned, but it was not as severe. I stumbled to my closet, tripping over nothing, my feet—which, I noted, still had their scars—were practically numb and not controlled by my will. I threw on some clean clothes and fell to the floor on my butt because I got disoriented.

This was going to be a long day.

My stomach didn't feel quite right so I skipped breakfast. I quickly bid a goodbye to Mika who muttered a farewell, munching on cereal as she watched TV. She didn't seem angry. If she was she would probably ignore me and close herself off completely.

But didn't she hear me upchucking last night? Or were her memories wiped out by Adelle, too?

I knew I'd fall down the flight of steps, so I took the elevator. I really didn't want to, but I'd rather be trapped for two minutes in a little box than fall down stairs in my condition. I nearly had forgotten where it was on my floor because I hardly used it. I wondered what the team thought as they watched me break my morning pattern. Did they think something was up? They couldn't suspect much, but it was certainly odd that I would take the elevator. What were they thinking? I could find that out later…

When it opened its doors for release, I ungracefully escaped the elevator and walked into headquarters. No one really cared that I had entered.

I scanned the room for my seat and saw L seated in his usual position next to an empty chair at the laptop I usually used. He stared at me with a wrinkle on his forehead. There was a certain softness in his eyes, but I didn't know what lied in the lack of blankness. He like he was concentrating on something.

I felt cold. My aches were turned into unfeeling ice cubes. I strode to my seat without tripping, and as I sat, I nodded an acknowledgement to him. I turned my face to the screen and acted as if I didn't see him.

I still felt him staring, as through the corner of my eye I saw that he slanted himself in my direction, his head next to mine. "Yes, I'm sure I know something about you," he stated lowly in my ear. "However, I have changed my hypothesis; I believe that through the occasions, Light has been trying to kill me a number of times and that you, for a reason still unknown to me, have been reviving me and rescuing me." His voice was so quiet and careful that I had to replay his words in my head to make sure that I had heard correctly. No one else could have heard. He continued to steadily watch me as he gradually leaned back in his chair.

I turned to him and inclined my head to one side as if I were attentively listening for an answer. I tried to quickly make up a story in my head, but I simply couldn't lie anymore. I couldn't imagine any ideas, not even a far-fetched one. "And does that bother you?" I hadn't spoken much over the volume of a breath.

He stuck his thumb upon his lip and angled himself to be barely the width of a hand's distance from me. His face regained its blankness, somewhere in his own mind, mulling, his eyes still managing to bore into mine.

"Yes. Yes, it does." He murmured and his head inclined upward to me. "It bothers me that you would trouble yourself by preserving my life. If you were Kira, wouldn't your goal be to kill me?" A rhetorical question. He no longer thought I was helping Kira… "What are you doing? What do you plan to do? Why?"

"_What kind of person are you to defy the Death Note?" _

I jumped back at the words, realizing he didn't say that; I was tuning in on his thoughts—or, really, his thoughts were tuning into _me._ His thoughts were so loud that even though I wasn't trying to listen to his mind, it made itself heard.

_Who are you, and what role do you play in this? I fear that I have yet to completely figure you out…I know you, Demetra…but I don't know who you are…_ His thumb outlined his mouth as his eyes started to gain focus.

My phone rang. I didn't react for a couple of seconds, almost stuck staring back at L. I picked it up and saw the name. It was Mika's cell phone.

"Put it on speaker," L never moved his eyes from me.

Wait…didn't he trust me enough now that he said I wasn't in an alliance with Kira? Or he was lying…

I pushed a couple buttons and Mika's voice sounded from the phone's speaker. "Dem?"

I cleared my throat and cast my eyes down. "Um, yeah?"

"Can you come up to the room—when you, when, when you have time?" She choked out a sob.

"Uh…sure, Mika, I'll—"

"Thanks—"

She was full out crying. After a full minute of me trying to calm her, she just hung up.

I looked back to L. "I gotta go,"

He nodded shortly. "Of course. Return as soon as possible."

I unconfidently stood and walked speedily out of the room. My body screamed and demanded immobility, but I continued.

What could Mika want? What could be so wrong? My thoughts turned towards Kyle…

I impatiently rode the elevator and jumped out when it arrived on my floor. I tried to appear calm as I timidly entered the living quarters. I barely had time to close the door when Mika clung to me. She buried her head in my shoulder. "I'm getting married!"

Everything stopped. My surroundings faded to gray. Everything meant nothing. My mind zoomed to a colorless elsewhere.

"In three days." Her voice was muffled by my shoulder.

Everything slowly drifted back into place. I was back in the room. I then just noticed that today was the day before Halloween. Three days. Today, then Halloween, and then—the big day—November first…my birthday. How wonderful. I bet Kyle did it on purpose, too. How thoughtful.

I stayed silent.

She pulled away from me, wanting to see my reaction. She had paths of water dripping from her cheeks and soaking her shirt.

I felt my face tighten and harden. My upper lip was slightly curled in disgust and my brows were furrowed. I was angry, but I was depressed beyond belief. I was furious and sickened with myself, more nauseated with myself than Kyle—though he came pretty darn close.

I failed Mika. I had failed to further delay and prevent their marriage. Of course, I had no real plan on how to do it, but I thought I would. I believed in myself, and I let myself down. How could I? Raise my hopes so high? Now I had no hope left.

Was I truly so restored by Adelle that I could butcher myself up again, possibly worse, for the sake of foiling a wedding? Perhaps, that even without the wedding, Kyle could still get whatever he wanted? A cute girl and her family under his thumb… I let it happen. I let it happen! And in the worst of ways! Would a true friend simply allow such an unnecessary evil to eat away at their companion's life?

My body ached everywhere with grief. My eyes teared.

Her face fell when she saw my eyes moisten. She stuttered and managed to choke out, "No!" I understood that she meant for me to stop crying. She hugged me, to calm me, but it only made my guilt deepen.

I unsteadily returned the affection. Did she know how awful I felt? Couldn't she sense my private wallowing? My mind was scrambling, thoughts barely making any sense to me when I thought them. Was I going insane? Was I driving myself to madness? Or was it Adelle's fault?

Something heavy dropped in my stomach. I felt sick. "Sorry," I muttered, trying to hide the lump in my throat.

"Don't be sorry." She placed her hands on my shoulders. "Why would you be sorry?"

My stomach lurched. "Sorry," I rushed to the bathroom and heaved.

An order flooded my head. _Dearie, you must be cleansed._

_Why? What else do you have to add to this mess?!_

_Well, when you're a goddess you don't need to eat…_ Her voice sounded far away…or maybe I was drowning it out with the flushing and the heaving.

I flushed the toilet more than once. _And this is the time you pick to empty my insides?_

Her voice got stronger. _Well, actually, your own body has been working on that all day._

I must have flushed the toilet at least four times._ I hate you!_

_You'll appreciate it later._

_No, I won't! I'll never appreciate it!_ I stopped to breathe, but nothing stopped with me. The sickness yanked more upward and outward. I wondered if she was also killing me this way.

_Of course I wouldn't kill you this way! _She scoffed. _That would be a very shameful death. If you were to die that way, that would be too humiliating, to die by your own vomit. Demetra-dearie! That's disgusting! That would be the horrid fate of an animal. You are a goddess! You will either die by your own means or mine._

I flushed the toilet again. _Well, that's simply very cheery. Thanks for letting me know._ Flush._ Now, make this stop._

_No. When you're done, you'll stop. Then, you won't eat again._

I couldn't stop heaving. _What if I get hungry?_

I could imagine that she rolled her eyes._ You won't. Food will disgust you, and as you mature even further, more and more mortal things will revolt you. _

I flushed again. The puking stopped, but I still gagged. _That sounds lonely._

She sighed. _It is, but you get used to it. In fact, it doesn't really take getting used to, Dearie; it takes recognition. Recognizing the fact that you cannot change your fate, and that you will only harm any human you come into contact with. You will accept it._

I rinsed out my mouth in the sink. _So we are solitary creatures. That explains why I've been antisocial all my life._

_You've additionally had proper reasons to avoid people. You _are_ an orphan._

_Please don't tell me that. _I snapped._ You're the last person I want to confirm that with._ I added You're the one that_ killed them…_ I coughed. _What about love?_

She paused. _What about it? You'll still love your family…Mika…_

_Do goddesses fall in love? Will I still love my family as much as I did?_

She was silent. I thought she had cut off the conversation until her voice appeared suddenly. _Yes, in a way, Dearie. We have a different love. We almost chose if we want to love or not…usually if it benefits us…like a partnership with another strong being._

I stared down at the sink. _So…actually, I will stop loving my family._

_The love will change and lessen, but it will stay. There's usually always a bit of humanity remaining in supernatural beings that were born human._

I cleared my throat and looked in the mirror. _Did you love Ryuk? What part of humanity did you keep?_

She laughed._ Of course not! A shinigami and a goddess? No!_ Her expressions remained light and amused. _They are considered below us because they are not exactly gods. Sure, they kill people and that's all very nice, but they need to in order to survive. You and I don't require anything to live. We do not die._ She sighed._ I was never human, so I have no humanity in me to begin with, save for understanding it and controlling it…but the whole point of humanity, to an extent, is to have no control but only to believe that control has certain levels of order and chaos. _

I turned to the door and saw Mika leaning on the door frame, fresh tears like liquid diamonds all over her face. She stepped closer and took my hand."Are you OK?"

I swallowed. She was watching me the whole time. I lowered my eyes and nodded. I shuffled as if I were under water to the door and into the elevator. I waited to rise above the water, to breathe, but then again, I was trapped in the elevator and in my own depression.

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	15. Chapter 15

**Sure has been a while... Anyway, I own Mika, Demetra, Kyle, Marie, Adelle, Amayia, and the father, the plot, and the original idea of the whole thing. **

**Please Read and Review!**

I felt as if I were trudging along the bottom of the ocean without knowing how to swim. Everything looked and sounded as if it were under water, muffled and blurred. I didn't cry. I was so wrapped up in my emotions that I simply couldn't muster any tears in me.

No one cared that I had returned. L barely acknowledged me.

I took a few shallow breaths and quickly sat in my seat. If I had taken my time, my legs would have wobbled and I would have collapsed into my seat with everyone watching, throwing away my remaining dignity.

I gazed blankly at my keyboard, feeling L's black orbs observing me. "To answer your question," I murmured stiffly, still not facing him. "I am working on solving the Kira case, like you. I plan to save the world by ridding it of Kira and other psychos like him. I'm doing this because I don't have anything else better to do. Might I ask you the same questions?" I pretended that there was never an interruption or time lapse in our conversation.

"I suppose I would reply the same way…" He further compacted himself from his original and usual position. I kept my eyes lowered and focused my peripheral vision on him. He tilted his head, and he started to stroke and rub his lip so hard with his thumb that I thought he would soon get a callous.

I forced my eyes to meet his. "Maybe instead of worrying about _who_ is trying to help you, you should only focus on _how_ they can aid you."

He rested his chin on his knees. "Are you criticizing me?"

I blinked, wishing that I could go home. "Maybe."

"You don't seem to be in a very good mood, Demetra."

My voice was flat and monotone. "Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe when something good comes along, I'll appreciate it more, and my mood will dramatically lighten."

"Hm." As if his grunt concluded something, he swiftly turned his swivel chair and used his arm to push himself away from my desk and toward his reserved area.

I wanted to go home. And not just to the little prison upstairs. I wanted to go back to America. Actually, I didn't even care about going to America. I wanted to be in England. In France. Anywhere else in Japan. Just not here.

I pecked away aimlessly at my keyboard. I didn't care about other evidences about Kira anymore. I used to be really hyped up about trying to find any sort of evidence that could give Light a kick in the teeth—but now that I really couldn't, and some of it got pointed to me, even though it's through L's slandering and unique interpretations, it's used against me nonetheless. Now that I couldn't use the evidence for me or against him, why bother?

I sighed. Adelle wanted to kill me soon, anyway. Maybe she could give me a few last words, or a last wish. If not, maybe I could do something on my own. Maybe I could devise a plan that could have Light exposed. But…I was already working on that. That's what I was already doing. I was trying to expose Light.

And it wasn't working.

So I had to make a new one. Maybe my new plan would involve more magic. It would seem a lot easier that way. I wondered what would happen to Light if he was caught. Life in prison? The death penalty? Or could he squirm away?

I felt my face scowl at the possibility that Light, in all of his slickness and sliminess—could talk his way out of his fate. Or worse, have Light hire a silver-tongued lawyer to smooth talk along side of him. And people are stupid, too. They'd believe whatever Light had to say just because they wanted to. They don't want a top scholarly student to be a serial killer. That's a not the cookie-cutter worker bee of tomorrow that they wanted.

They. Society. Not me, not L, not the team, and perhaps not most people with sense. But everyone else. The higher-classed meat heads that somehow control everything with a thick wallet and a few good associative networks. The people that need image more than they need substance. The people that airbrush pictures, airbrush life, to such an extent that reality is nothing but an occasional knock on the door that can be ignored. These are the people that I must overcome.

I listlessly exhaled again. I wish this would just go away, just fix itself. I didn't like feeling responsible for bringing Light forward. I was also a little depressed about Mika. I felt a sense of responsibility with that, too.

Well, if I had to do something with Light, I wanted it to do just as much damage unto him as he caused everyone else. He was an egotistical crazy guy who failed to realize in his vanity that he was wrong. Plain and simple, he was wrong to kill anyone that was innocent. I didn't actually mind that he was killing people in jails, but he had to be stopped because it was only a matter of time before he would believe himself as a divine force. And, of course, that time had come, and that had led us to our current situation.

So, what to do, what to do? I hadn't the slightest clue. Maybe I'd make him go crazier, and make him confess in front of everyone. Peacefully, or violently? I could channel my thoughts into his head, and make them appear as voices in his head that he only hears. It would drive him crazy.

Or, I could make him kill himself. But, that's stupid. That's an easy way out. Maybe I could make him kill Kyle. Heck, it would be a win-win situation, for me. He writes down Kyle's name, he gets the blame. And that could happen. I'm surprised it didn't happen before. Kyle's a criminal. He's a scumbag. What would Light have to hold back? Maybe he didn't care because he knew that Mika's misfortune was causing me pain, as well…

That sounded good. I just had to do it before the wedding. If I did it after, Kyle's friends, if they didn't already, would have easy access to Mika's information and whereabouts, which pretty much spelled doom. So, if they didn't, then it would work. If they did… Light could kill them, too. Why not? Might as well take the cake and eat it, too. I might as well make a bang as I blow this joint and go to other side.

As I saw the plan unfold in my head, I noticed how I grew almost sarcastic and contemptuous. I wondered if this was a trait that was growing in me, like one that Adelle said. She said I would grow more disgusted with humans as I evolved.

I wasn't really disgusted, but I was fired up about this whole thing. I figured I should try to put an end to it, but as I saw fit, of course. And not in an I'm-all-powerful way, either. More like the I'm-gonna-kick-everyone-to-the-moon-while-I-have-my-chance way. I didn't know when I was going to die, but I knew it was soon, and I knew that I would do all that I could to prolong it and take care of business and tie the loose ends before I become a goddess. I wasn't really afraid of dying. I wasn't really going to die since I knew what would happen soon after my physical destruction.

I noticed my head started to incline toward my collar bone in fatigue. I noted the quiet, and realized everyone was gone. I got up slowly and sauntered to the door in a casual but dogged manner.

As I put my hand on the doorknob to leave, I heard L say "I hope you feel better, Demetra. You're the one that usually brings the life to the party."

Pffft. How corny.

With my back to him, I rolled my eyes and replied, forcing a smile in my voice. "Thanks, Ryuuzaki. I appreciate your concern."

"Of course, Demetra. Any time."

I walked out and strode to the elevator to get upstairs. Either most of my pain had subsided, or I was too busy that I didn't notice it. I guess in the morning my question would be answered. As I exited the elevator and entered the living quarters, I saw Mika sitting in front of the couch, leaning against it, but slumping over.

"Hey, Mika,"

She didn't answer me. My eyes widened in the dim light of the television's images flashing over her form. I stammered, but not nervously. "Mika?"

I took slow steps, purposely making them seem normal, as if I weren't on edge. "Hey, Mika?" I forced my voice to be stronger and louder than I really felt. I studied her as I walked around the couch and saw her stomach and chest rise and lower in a slow rhythm. I felt a wave of coldness and then heat as I kneeled down to her level beside her. "Yo, Mika," I whispered, nudging her.

She didn't respond, so I lightly shook her shoulder. "Mika, you awake?"

"Mmmm, I'm awake. Watchin' a movie." She answered groggily and her eyes didn't flutter.

I glanced at the screen and saw an infomercial about a cooking set that was supposedly a reasonable price. "Um, I think the movie ended."

She moaned, stirring slightly. "I'll go to bed soon,"

"Uh-huh." I got back on my feet and suddenly became unbearably thirsty. It just suddenly felt sore and scratchy, like a vacuum had sucked up all the moisture and water in a well. I took a deep breath and turned to get a glass and some water. However, the air agitated my throat and I produced two powerful coughs that watered my eyes and pained my chest. I quickly got a glass and took some water from the faucet. As the water hit my throat, it came back up again. I coughed up water back into the glass and all over my clothes. I violently gagged and couldn't get a chance to breathe. I leaned over the sink, the counter top completely supporting my weight.

I was _so_ thirsty and I couldn't drink. I didn't really mind hunger so far. The feeling hadn't lately occurred to me, but as I compared the feeling of thirst to everything else that I felt, hunger was just a vague and far away feeling in my gut that was easily ignorable. My coughing fit calmed and I managed to get a few gasps of air.

"Dem, are you OK?"

I turned to face her. Apparently she had gotten up and was only a foot away from me. "I think some water…went down…the wrong pipe."

"I hate it when that happens. You OK, though?" The lights of the television against her back prevented me from seeing her face clearly, but I could see her glistening eyes, genuinely caring and interested.

"Fine," I muttered, suppressing a cough. "I'm going to bed. You should…do the same." I snatched my hands away from the countertop, realizing how pathetic and unconvincing I must have looked.

"I'll go to bed later. I can't sleep. I'll just chill on the couch and watch bad soap operas and paid programming ads."

I grunted. I could only imagine why she couldn't sleep. Getting married to a creeper in three days, good luck to her with resting easy at night.

I really wanted to comfort her, but I no longer knew _how_, and I was _so_ tired. It was like the thirst. I just suddenly got exhausted. I plodded to me bedroom and plopped on my bed. I didn't bother changing into pajamas or new clothes or anything. I felt so weak, I could barely move. I almost felt high. I slowly stopped caring about my surroundings, and just stared at the wall while lying on my stomach. I felt numb. I either couldn't feel or grew too lazy to bother to register that I still had extremities.

As I lied on the mattress, my eyes drooped and my mind grew restless. What was going to happen to me? I guessed this was the whole part of the evolution process. First the vomiting of all the food in my system, then not eating, not drinking…what was left but not sleeping and breathing?

I don't know why, but I suddenly tensed at the thought of not breathing. It worried me more than the other things that have happened to me. That was because when I stopped breathing, my heart would come to a halt as well, and my life as a human would truly be gone.

I pursed my lips into a thin line. I started to ask myself hesitantly, _why am I so reluctant to stop being human? What do I detest so much about being a goddess?_ After all, what was so bad about being an all powerful creature? Didn't most people crave power, immortality?

I sighed. I wasn't one of those people.

Other thoughts flooded my head. _But just think—I could have everything my way. I could kill anyone and everyone that I thought deserved it—or even if I just had a bad day and just gave a random person a bad situation, or if I had a good day and felt benevolent enough to give someone a fortunate happening. _

Bitter memories soon replaced these ideas. Images of my mother's body appeared, as well as the pictures of my sisters at the site of her death that the police showed me when they investigated it, along with pictures of my father when he was alive. Their images, voices, and presences somehow all managed to touch me, to overwhelm me, and fill me with guilt and desolation.

I hated Adelle, and everything she was trying to make me do. I didn't want to live forever, I didn't want special powers. I didn't want to be the chosen one. I didn't want to be the first choice because I was the only one that didn't kill myself—yet.

The thought would sometimes come to me, but it would always pass. I wanted to help Mika out of her predicament more than anything, as well as make the Kira case come to an end.

I grew anxious thinking about my future, my death, Mika, and Kira. I snapped open my eyes and peeked over at my clock. 3:30 AM.

Time sure flew by. Wait, what time did I even go to bed?...I guesstimated between midnight and one. With that, that was between two to three hours lying on my bed trying to sleep but failing.

I sat up and blinked slowly. I turned my head toward the door and looked at it, pondering whether or not I should try to stand up and go see if Mika was asleep yet. I had nothing else to do, and I obviously couldn't sleep. I got up and cautiously entered the room. Mika was sitting on the couch curled up in a ball; her head inclined back, her head resting on the back of the couch with her mouth slightly open.

I cleared my throat, wincing and immediately regretting it. This startled Mika, causing her to jolt up and flail her arms. She coughed from probably swallowing air the wrong way from the surprise, and starting coughing. Then, she managed a "Hi," and eventually got under control. "I can't sleep," She complained.

"Oh, really? What were you just doing?" I smiled sarcastically.

"Well, I was _tryin'_ to sleep, but I kinda never did. Not after you came home. All your fault." She pouted and crossed her arms lazily.

I laughed at how her childishness outweighed her grogginess. I found it almost hilarious at how she could so easily and nearly energetically joke around as if she had had a and entire pot of coffee.

"Well, gee, my bad. Pardon my rude and unjustified entry." I smirked, mimicking her folding of the arms.

She giggled, then replied, "Nah, I'd rather not."

I shrugged. "Well, OK, then. Screw you."

She chortled almost uncontrollably. "No, thanks. I love you, but not that way."

I joined her laughing fit, though my laughter was not nearly as genuine or enthusiastic as hers.

"Hey, Dem," She patted the couch cushion next to hers. "Sit down. I'm bored, let's talk. Just no funny business, OK? Remember now, I _still_ don't love you that way."

I feigned sadness. "Aw, Mika, you really broke my heart with those harsh words." My voice cracked and a heightened dryness and pain shot strait down my throat. I decided to try to talk the least amount as possible.

Mika chuckled dryly. "I know. I'm a real heartbreaker."

We sat there for a while, quiet. I didn't mind the silence, but I could tell Mika was getting restless. She turned to me. "Hey, Dem?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't haffta answer if you don't wanna….but… I've been wondering…" She inhaled deeply. "How did your parents die?"

I kept staring straight forward, not looking at her. I painfully gulped nonexistent spit and blinked. "Well," I croaked. "It's a long story."

She weakly nodded. "I kinda figured that. But I can wait."

I felt my body stiffen. "Well, I guess I'll start at the beginning." I took a deep breath and looked down at my hands. "When I was born, my father killed himself. I don't really know why. The documents say he was apparently on the verge of insanity to due anxiety." I tried to swallow but couldn't. "When I was ten, I had learned that my sister had died—"

"You had a sister?"

I nodded sharply.

"Wow. I always assumed you were an only child."

"Well, I wasn't. She killed herself by jumping off a building."

She gasped. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," I replied coldly. "And when my mother found out, she couldn't handle it. She figured that since her husband and eldest child were dead that there was no point in living anymore… alone, with me…" My eyes teared. I was depressed by the lie I told, the lie I lived. I was making my family to be a bunch of suicidal maniacs, which wasn't true at all. They all died for a noble cause… I just hoped that it was all worth it and I wouldn't waste it.

I continued. "My mother got a jar. I didn't know what it was at the time, but I later found that it was poison. She poured half of it into a glass and handed it to me. She said, 'Demetra, sweetheart, drink this with me. We'll be in a better place. We'll see your father and sister again.'" And I asked her," I paused, too ashamed to look her in the eye as I took advantage of her trust in me. "'Where will it take us?' And she said, "I don't really know. But we'll be together again.'

"Of course, I was frightened out of my wits when she said this. I had no idea what she was talking about, and it never occurred to me that she was willing to kill me."

I stopped and out of the corner of my eye, I saw her practically hypnotized by my story. I heard her sniff, so she must have been crying. "Along with herself." My eyes watered and I blinked carefully to not let them fall. I hated that I was portraying such an image about my loved one, but I couldn't tell the truth, and what other stories would have made at least a little sense? Adelle had told me to tell this story to the police, to anyone that asked. She had set it up so it would have appeared so. She set up the bottle he used to poison my mother, set up a glass, and the rest simply played out itself.

"So, as scared and confused as I was, my mother told me that she would count to three and that we would drink the stuff from the jar. On three, she drank it." I nervously brushed my hair behind my ear. "But I didn't. I only tilted it up and pretended to. Then I saw her collapse on the floor. I was so scared. I'll never forget…" My voice trailed off and I made a fist so tight that my nails cut into my palms. "I tried to wake her up. I didn't know what was wrong. I knew what death was, but, as a kid, I just didn't think that it would happen to her, to my mother, to my sister." A lump formed in my throat and it nearly prevented me from further speech. "I called the police. I was crying. I thought I did something wrong. Many times after that I wished that I had killed myself along with the rest of my family. Sometimes I still wonder what would have happened if I did—"

I was interrupted my Mika, who had stood up and slapped me hard against the face. "Don't you EVER say something like that AGAIN!" She took in a deep, angry breath. "If you had gone and killed yourself, I would never have met you, and you would never have been my best friend, and who knows how sad my life would be without you? Sure, I have friends, but none of them are_ you._" She got on her knees so her face was on the same level as mine, though I refused to let my eyes meet hers. "Don't you get it, you freakin' psycho? You're my best friend! And I'm sure that you've helped a lot of people in your life, like with the Kira case! You're saving lives every day by being a cop, and you're saving even more by helping solve the Kira case!" She seized my shoulders and shook me. "Don't you ever even _think_ about killing yourself again! I need you, Dem! I know you lost your family, but doesn't that just mean that _I'm _now you're family? I know you lost them, and I'm sorry," She stopped shaking me and gently placed a hand on my shoulder, trying to make eye contact with me as a sat still unmoved. "But you still have me. I'm sorry if that's not good enough, but that's all I got. Me. I wanna keep you around a while longer even if you're annoying," She weakly smiled. "'Cause that's what _sisters_ do. And I consider you mine."

I finally looked up at Mika peering into my face. She was so serious, that I had almost forgotten that she was younger than me, and that it such a short while ago that we had been joking prior to this solemn conversing. "Thanks, Mika." Was all I could muster. I could hardly believe that during the whole part of my tale, she had interrupted the only truthful part of it.

She smiled. "No problem, Dem." She retreated to her seat on the couch and bent in her knees so she sat on them. "By the way," She added, "What was your sister's name?"

I glanced her way. "Amayia."

**Don't forget to read and review! You know you want to! R&R, I truly do appreciate them! Thank you!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Don't own Death Note...or those Madeline ganache things by Fritz Knipschildt. I own this plot/idea/Demetra/Adelle/Mika/Kyle/all other OC's.**

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By the time I had finished recalling the warped vision of my childhood, it was already time to return to headquarters. However, before I exited the room, Mika squealed, "Oh, yeah, what day is today?"

I shrugged.

She tilted her head and thought deeply for a moment or two, then smiled and said, "Happy Halloween!"

I scoffed. "What? It can't be Hallow—" I then recollected the past few days, then recalled when Mika's wedding was.

"Can we go trick-or-treatin'?"

Her blurb interrupted my thoughts. "Oh. Um. I don't know. You want to?" I paused, half-turning towards her. "You're _nineteen!_"

She pointed her nose up high in the air and placed her hand over her heart. "But I'll be a kid inside for_ever_!"

I stood, unmoved. I awkwardly stared at her, not necessarily in disbelief, but the whole thing just didn't process. "Um. Sure. I don't know when. I—"

"Tell whoever—that creepy guy, right?—to make it a holiday! 'Cause I know that trick-or-treating isn't everywhere in Japan, but they're giving candy and having a costume contest at the mall, and—"

I grew exhausted of her. "No."

She was taken aback. "What? Why not? Why don't you wanna—"

"Mika, I'll be blunt with you. I'm not in the best of moods. Frankly, I'm miserable, and I could care less to skip around begging for crap that you can get at a dollar store." I didn't regret the words after I said them, I just got angry. I turned the rest of the way to face her. "Feel free to do whatever you want, just don't rely on me to accompany you on every little nauseating adventure that you go out to seek." I had noticed that my back had straightened and I held my head higher. And my voice, as angry as I was, wasn't; it sounded cold and absolute.

A hot wave of fear washed over my entire being, and I knew that I was changing for the worse. Sure, I could've said that when I could no longer eat and started to vomit blood, and I could even have said the same thing when I was ten and had to cut myself and try my best to hide the scars because I was cursed and not suicidal.

I've taken several turns for the worse, but none of them had made me a monster. At worst description, I was a pitiable creature with a sealed fate and had somewhat given up on her life, but had hope in the lives of others. But now, would I even have that? By scorning the feelings and lives of others, I was on the verge of being just what Adelle wanted me to be.

I was going to be just like her.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" I could tell she was trying to steady her voice. "I didn't know you felt that way…" She sniffed. "Well, then, I might go by myself… I'll see ya…"

I glowered. "Have fun." I turned on my heel and exited the room. It wasn't until the elevator took me to the floor of headquarters did I realize that I hadn't changed my clothes since yesterday. Knowing this, I felt disgusting and dirty, but not enough to actually care what those around me thought. So, I walked into headquarters and took my seat. My mind felt clouded and clear at the same time.

I finally felt as if I didn't care about anyone's view of me. I actually felt as if I were somehow sitting on a platform far away and up higher than everyone. It wasn't exactly a feeling of arrogance, for I never really had a desire to impress those around me, but now, I felt detached, and I really couldn't care less about anyone's thoughts or feelings.

This revelation worried me, but the anxiousness that I felt from this seemed far away, like someone else was feeling it, and I was just sensing its presence, but not actually feeling it. All of my emotions seemed that way. Even my irritation with Mika, I wasn't truly furious on any level, I was simply annoyed and decided to tell her so.

As I sat there for a brief moment, L half-heartedly announced that if anyone wanted a treat, like a candy or pastry, they could feel free. I turned my head toward him and saw his back facing me from across the room, with his eyes, as usual, glued to the computer. The sweets he had referred to were on a shiny white platter with gold edging. It was placed next to where he was sitting on a computer desk. Since it was pretty random and far away compared to the rest of the group, no one bothered to get any, even if they had wanted to.

As I mindlessly went through files on the computer and on paper, I tried to work out the details of my murdering Kyle and pushing Light's guilt into the limelight. I realized, if I could channel my power to speak my thoughts, I could make Light seem as if he had schizophrenia. Though that issue is completely separate from being a murderer, I could drive him far enough to peak of insanity, to make him kill Kyle. It would be perfect—Light would write Kyle's name, Light would get the blame. Even if Light recognized my voice in his thoughts, what did it really matter?

I smirked to myself and inclined my head forward so no one would see. I was almost gleeful. I wondered how good of a person I was to derive such joy from a person's demise, but because this person was Kyle, I had no regrets.

As I turned away from the computer that was shutting down and the now closed file cabinets, I had the pleasure of having L's face and inch or so away from mine in greeting.

"Hey, Ryuuzaki," I muttered, keeping a bored expression on my face.

"Hello, Demetra." His large black eyes, as empty as they were, still managed to bore back into mine, like they were looking for something. "I noticed that you weren't in the best of moods this morning." He paused, never looking away. He reached into his pocket and held his hand in a fist close to my face. "These always make me feel better. I hope they do the same for you." He opened his hand and I saw what looked to be a truffle candy. He took one of my hands with his free one and placed the chocolate in my palm. Looking at it, I found that it was a ganache, which is a pretty high quality candy.

It was in a silk wrapping, not paper like most sweets are. I soon realized that it was a Madeline from Fritz Knipschildt. Yes, a mouthful, I know, but that little thing is one of the most expansive and high quality candies in the world. I only knew this because I would find L munching on them and tossing the box in the trashcan, but the labels were still visible. A nifty little card and letter would come with each box, too, to explain how each candy was individually made with care and a whole bunch of other components.

I looked back at him and forced a smile in appreciation. "Thanks, Ryuuzaki." I gently closed my fingers around the ganache, lowering my hand. I awkwardly took a step back and tried to make the rest of my exit as graceful as possible.

"Demetra,"

I stopped at the door and looked back. "Yeah, Ryuuzaki?" I tried to make my voice a sweet as possible without overdoing it.

"This may sound strange to you now, but please know that you may speak to me about anything that may be bothering you. In this case, I've been able to make some friends, something I've never had before." He stood, tilting his head at a slight angle, waiting for me to reply.

I had absolutely nothing to say. I eyed him thoughtfully. "Thanks, Ryuuzaki."

He started talking quickly in a shy mumbling manner. "You know, you and Light are my only friends. I've come to like most everyone on the team for their own characteristics and I've grown used to their presence, but you and Light I seem to have a certain and different attraction to." He rubbed the top of his left foot with his right. "And don't think it's because I have suspected you two of being involved with Kira. It's not a fascination or ploy to expose you, I genuinely like you." He scratched the back of his head, looking away momentarily, then quickly returned his gaze to me. "I make friends differently than most people. I'd really be surprised if you or Light honestly considered me a friend in return—"

I smiled. "Yes, I've realized." I paused, looking at an imaginary point far away. My eyes trailed back to him. "However, if you care enough to be a real friend," My smile broadened, revealing teeth. "Then I have no real choice except to accept your friendship and be a friend in return." I tilted my head, mirroring him, trying to express my thoughts clearly so I wouldn't be misunderstood. "If you're willing to be my friend, why would I turn you away? This world is big, and lives are so fragile. We should make as many friends as possible and as little enemies as we can."

"But, Demetra, most often we are better off having as little friends as possible, for having too many friends hints that some of them are frauds." He lowered his hand from his head and into his pocket.

"We don't make friends. We discover them. And there are very few out there. However, maybe we can be friends." I placed my hand without the candy on my hip, my face still friendly. "Unless one or two is too many."

He took a step closer to me. "'If someone leaves this world with just one friend, they are lucky.' Do you not know that quote?"

I shrugged. "Maybe we're lucky."

His mouth twitched for a brief moment into what I believed was a smile. "I suppose that's always a possibility."

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